Beschreibung:If utopia is “no place” that actually exists, then as Ruth Levitas states in her book _The Concept of Utopia_ (1990), it is a “repository of desire” for a different, better world, since “it disrupts the taken-for-granted nature of the present.” On the other hand, critics have shown that utopian genres are bound by the assumptions and conventions of the times in which they are produced. In this seminar in American studies, we will explore this simultaneously worldly and otherworldly character of literary utopias and dystopias by taking up a selection of speculative fiction from the early and late twentieth century.
In order to take and enjoy this class, you should be willing to read, analyze, and discuss historical and analytical texts, as well as texts of narrative fiction.
A list of primary texts and/or required readings will be provided before the course begins.
