UTOPIA IS AN ISLAND. WHY?

From the Garden of Eden onwards, we have always thought of the world in terms of space. There are spaces we exist in, spaces we pass through, and spaces we imagine. This semester we will read texts that span the globe and many centuries, from the third millennium BC to the mid-1600s. Each of these texts revolves around a type of space—whether imagined, created, or traversed. Each resonates with questions or ideas we’re still thinking about now: what path to take through life; the “discovery” of new worlds; the relationship between humans and the natural world; how to envision civic or domestic space. We will think about alternate universes. We will read about long journeys, look at maps, and discuss what it means to go home or get lost. And we will explore ideas of utopia, dystopia, and other kinds of places in a range of historical and political contexts.