Part Two
At the beginning of second semester, students will read, as a class, excerpts from Book 2 of Thomas More's Utopia (Those dealing with geography, gold and silver, marriage customs, religions, and conclusion). Each students will write a response to the reading centering on three of the key elements of More's vision of a ideal society based on rationality. See list of topics below for areas which may be chosen.
Next students will read, in groups, excerpts which depict utopian societies from the following works (written during or just prior to or after the Renaissance): the Abbey of Theleme section from Gargantua, the El Dorado episode from Candide, an excerpt on the ideal city in The Book of the City of Ladies, a summary of Mary Astell's suggestions for her utopian society in "A Serious Proposal to the Ladies for the Advancement of their True and Greatest Interest," the depiction of the forest as Arcadia in As You Like It (2.1), the island utopia in The Tempest (2.1), and various descriptions of Camelot from works such as The Once and Future King and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Students will analyze their utopian society according to the following categories and questions. Each student will be responsible for writing briefly about three of the items in the first category and for responding to the additional questions.
- Aspects of civilization
- Government
- Economic system, including division of labor
- Social hierarchy
- Family
- Religion
- The arts, including literature, and entertainment
- The treatment of criminals
- Education
- Inventions and technology
- Clothing
- Housing
- Evaluate the elements of the utopian civilization depicted in your novel.
- Which elements seem most important in creating the utopian model in your novel?
- Which elements are ignored or left out, and why?
- Discuss the role of reason and emotion, or rational and irrational, in your utopia.
- Discuss the relative importance of the individual and the community as a whole in your utopia
- Discuss your desire to live or not to live in the utopia presented, and explain why.
- Explain what the attributes of each utopian society tell us about the values and ideals of the Renaissance.
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