ENGL 301 - Dystopian Literature

Credit(s): 3
3 hours lecture, 3 hours contact
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 112 or ENGL 192 / HONR 192.
This course is a study of literary dystopias and utopias from ancient through contemporary times. This course will examine imaginative descriptions of both ideal and nightmare societies and what makes them so. The course will explore various issues such as the function of groups and institutions, the role of technology, the place of art and culture, questions of ethics, and what happens to individuals in these societies. Works might include Renaissance-era writings, such as those by Sir Thomas More or Jonathan Swift; twentieth-century writings such as those by Ray Bradbury or Eugene Ianesco; and contemporary efforts such as Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games or James Dashner’s The Maze Runner.