Joseph Melanson
Ideal Worlds
Prof. Monte
30 August 2012
Utopia Final
Reflection
1). What have you learned during this term?
I have learned several things
during this term. Utopia arises from the human desire to create a better place in the world, utopia is a
dream in which one desires to enact a place where everyone is treated equally, and human
suffering is minimized. Utopia is a possibility but needs much work, and participation among
people to successfully create an ideal place where everyone can share in its benefits, but
generally it seems that the people who would live their would have to learn to sacrifice
some amount of individuality for the sake of the greater good. I have
learned about the various kinds of utopias Golden Age, Arcadia, Paradise, The Land of the Cockaygne, The millennium, and The Ideal
City. Utopias usually
mirror the ages that the utopian, or dystopian story arises. Utopia, if it were to be created, depends upon the
political, cultural, social, and economic systems where it would be enacted as a utopia in
one place for some people, could become a dystopia for others. Utopia comes from our
human condition that desires peace, stability, and sharing for the benefit of all people.
Utopias generally arise in some form or version for a period of time in some eras, but
usually fall apart due to some factor or another. The ideal of utopia is still a work in progress,
and perhaps will be for some time.
2). How is your present understanding of utopian literature
different from what it was
when you entered this study?
I had taken the concept of utopia
for granted but now I notice utopias or dystopias in stories take place in I watch or read. I have learned
that utopian literature has a long tradition, coming perhaps from a desire to criticize
contemporary society in an era that did not tolerate freedom of expression. Utopias are
generally a narrative journey of a traveler who enters an ideal world, sees its inner workings,
and the reasons how it came to be. The narrator then either returns to his familiar
world to bring home his revelation, or remains, only relating his tale to the reader.
Utopian
literature is generally divided between a ideal society, or a dystopia or a society that is run more like a prison. Utopia is a society
that the people participate in its functioning for the common good, and a dystopia is where
rules of law are strictly enforced in order to maintain itself but limits human
freedom.
Utopian literature includes social
theory as well, even when the writers of social theory, like Marx for instance, do not use a narrative
journey in their works.
3). What effect will this understanding have in your
professional or personal life?
The effect that I believe this
course will have on my professional and personal life is how much importance I place on wanting to help create
utopia, and how much we can play a part in making our worlds a better place for everyone.
In life we are a part of many small worlds that may seem separate, but they overlap with the
worlds of others, and form a part of the larger world as a whole. It is necessary
to always keep this in mind as we function in our various roles and responsibilities,
rather than pursuing our selfishness.
4). What future study of utopian literature would you like
to undertake?
I would like to examine more
closely some of the inner workings, the details, and motifs used in some utopias, and then perhaps catalog my own
ideas. I would like to look at contemporary society, and perhaps see how utopias have
been reflected in it. Perhaps I would consider doing more research into social theory, or
other literature such as mythology, religion and how it could apply to the creation
of my own imaginary utopia. As someone who has always wanted to be a writer, I realize
now that the places in which the characters I would create counts just as much as the
people that would inhabit them.
No comments:
Post a Comment