We’ve only to consider the extraordinary popularity of recent books/films such as The Hunger Games or the rhetoric of recent political discourse within this country in order to note some of the ways in which our culture is preoccupied with utopian dreams and dystopian threats. Evidence of this preoccupation is not new, and may be traced back to Plato’s Republic, as well as to the origins of most religious traditions. But, around the turn of the twentieth century, there was a particular resurgence of interest in themes of utopia and dystopia within literature and Western culture, as late Victorian and modernist authors began to explore the use of metaphors of utopia and dystopia in order to address shifts within a rapidly-modernizing society. This interest continued throughout the century in American and English literature, with the rise of the sci-fi genre at mid-century, the increasing incorporation of sci-fi elements into mainstream literary fiction, and now, in the early years of the twenty-first century, with the creation of the dystopian YA (Young Adult) novel genre.
This course will examine the ways in which fictional literary works of this period reflect the anxieties of our modern culture, and the ways in which these works provide a space within which to explore contemporary concerns such as: the place of the individual within society, power and control, race/class/gender, consumerism, urbanization, technology and futurism. We will focus primarily on literary works of the twentieth century, beginning with those of the modernist period, but we will also discuss excerpts from a few works written well before this time period, as well as excerpts from a few works written within the twenty-first century.

Readings will include the following novels: Herland (Charlotte Perkins-Gilman), The Children of Men (P.D. James), We (Yevgeny Zamyatin), In the Country of Last Things (Paul Auster), the novella The Time Machine (H.G. Wells) and the graphic novel V for Vendetta (Alan Moore). Readings will also include a number of short stories by authors such as E.M. Forster, Ursula K. LeGuin, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Ray Bradbury, Joanna Russ, Harlan Ellison, Chia Miéville, and George Saunders, as well as short excerpts from several recent YA (Young Adult) novels, and short excerpts from longer works by theorists of utopia such as Thomas More and Fredric Jameson.

This course will emphasize close reading and critical thinking, as well as the development of complex and well-supported written arguments. This course also fulfills the University of Washington’s ‘W’ requirement. It will include 10-15 pages of graded, out-of-class writing, most likely in the form of two, 5-7 page papers or two shorter papers and one longer paper. The course may also include a presentation component, with the additional possibility of in-class quizzes, short writing assignments, etc.