Apr 16th
Discuss Smiley, Ordinary Love (group-led)
First short paper. First draft, 3-4 pages, due Mon, Feb 23rd, before noon (slide under door); final draft, 4 pages, due Tues, Mar 10th (in class).
Choose one question to pursue and one book to pursue it in:
1.) The post-revolutionary world of Geoff Ryman's The Child Garden and the Miller family farm in Jane Smiley's Good Will both could be considered failed utopias. Originally, perhaps, they were animated by noble ideals and brilliant ideas, but they have turned out badly. Looking at one of these books, write about what went wrong. In other words, play the doctor to one of these sick societies, and diagnose the illness. (Note: there are many, many things you could pick up on in either The Child Garden or Good Will; instead of trying to write about them all, you should probably focus on one or two of what seem to you to be the most important points.)
2.) Think about this question in regard to either Good Will or The
Child Garden: In the end, does this novella/novel make "utopia" seem
desirable or possible? (Possible but difficult? Desirable but impossible? Both
desirable and possible?) Explain. Note: this is a question about the way
that this particular fiction represents the world, that is, the picture it gives you of
"the way things are" -- human nature, life in the world. Is this picture fatalistic?
Optimistic? How and why? Remember to demonstrate with quotes from the text.
Second short paper. First draft, 3-4 pages, due Mon, Apr 6th, before noon (slide under door); final draft, 4 pages, due Tues, Apr 21st (in class).
Having shone so brightly in the 19th century, utopian ideas have taken a heavy intellectual beating in the 20th; numerous Western intellectuals (especially since the early decades of the Soviet Union) have blamed utopian thinking or utopian styles of thought for all kinds of atrocities, from communist totalitarianism to the destructive hubris of capitalism. Critical thinkers like Ursula K. LeGuin, Milan Kundera, Julia Witwer, and perhaps even Jane Smiley and Geoff Ryman have found a variety of problems with the very ideas of "utopia" that have been handed down to us by writers and political philosophers over the centuries. On the other hand, a number of intellectuals have argued for the continuing relevance, importance, and even desirability of utopian thinking; of the ones we've read, Bob Black, Paul DiFillipo, Cornelius Castoriadis, and Ursula K. LeGuin might best fit into this category (perhaps Geoff Ryman as well). If we find that certain classic conceptions of utopia (or certain customary ways of thinking about utopia, certain traditional styles of utopian thinking) are inadequate or unacceptable to us -- either because they are inhumane, deceptive, contradictory, inconsistent, self-destructive, or impractical -- then perhaps it is possible for us to form some different concept of utopia, a concept which would be adequate and acceptable.
1.) If you agree that this is possible, write a paper with a thesis that answers the following question: which elements of traditional utopian thinking would have to change (what aspects of utopian thinking are most problematic), and how would they have to change? Argue for your answer.
2.) If you believe that the critical condemnations of utopian thinking stand -- that is, that these criticisms cannot be overcome, that no form of utopian thinking is now or could ever be adequate or acceptable -- then make that the thesis of your paper, and argue for it.
(Note: I am asking for your ideas, but you should draw on a number of
the things we have read in the process of explaining and clarifying your ideas.
You are positioning yourself in a debate, so be aware of what the other voices in
the debate are -- although you are not obligated to identify your own
position exactly with the position of anyone we have read! Think about what
arguments might be made in opposition to your arguments. Consider the
consequences of your position.)
Final paper. 7-10 pages and bibliography. Only one draft required. Due in class on Thursday, May 7th.
This assignment gives you a choice of topics or subjects to write about; once you pick one that you're interested in, you need to figure out what you want to say about your particular topic -- that is, what your point (your thesis) is. Make sure your paper has a thesis! Pick one of these paper topics, or invent your own and get my approval beforehand.
1.) An essay about language and utopia in either one or two texts that we have read this semester (fiction or nonfiction). Why and how does language become an issue for utopian thinking? What does this particular text have to say (whether explicitly or implicitly) about both "utopia" and "language", and how do these ideas connect in it?
2.) An essay focusing on a single character in one of the novels/novellas we've read this semester, taking up the issue of desires.
3.) An essay about utopia and the self (issues of individuality, identity, selfhood, autonomy, etc.) in any of the texts we've read this semester.
4.) An essay on utopia and the family in one of the novels/novellas we've read this semester. Ordinary Love and Good Will are both obvious choices, but you might also look into Milena's and Rolfa's families in The Child Garden, or the families of Daniel Quinn and "Paul Auster" in City of Glass, for instance.
5.) Special: a 7-9 page short story set in a utopia of your own invention, plus an attached commentary (2 pages). Before you say, "Oh, yeah, that's easy!" consider the difficulties of writing such a story. Do you define utopia as a place where conflicts and frustrations cannot exist? If so, then it's difficult to imagine how a plot could arise, since plots usually depend on conflicts, obstacles to be overcome, dissatisfactions to be assuaged. How do you write a story in the absence of what Milan Kundera calls "shit and excitement"? Or, if your utopia includes these things, how can it be thought of (or experienced as) a utopia? Only stories that search for inventive, creative, original answers to this dilemma will get high grades for this assignment. In the 2 pages of attached commentary, reflect on how you wrote the story, and discuss how you answered the challenge of the assignment.
Note: many of these are essays about "utopia and ___" as they appear in
some text. If you take on one of these, be careful: you need to come up with a
single, integrated thesis statement, not two theses that just happen to be in the
same paper.