Utopian Politics in Theory and Practice

Pre-requisites for enrolment

None.

Content of Course

The following topics will be discussed:

1. Arcadia.

Utopias which look to a golden age in the past to inform politics in the present, and which express ideas of a natural order of the world.

2. Apocalyptia.

Utopian writings which promote concepts of imminent change and how the world will end, utilising concepts of historical narrative and social justice.

3. Eutopia.

Utopias that provide planned details of what a new world might look like, and how it could be organised, specifically given existing levels of human technical development.

4. Dystopia.

Utopias which stress the dangers of trying to perfect and organise our social worlds.

5. Heterotopia I: Formatories.

Introduction to the concept of ‘heterotopia’ and the practice of applying ideals to particular institutions. Formatories cover orphanages, schools, and other institutions of childhood where development of perfect citizens has been attempted.

6. Heterotopia II: Factories.

An examination of the industrial revolution and factories, such as those of New Lanark and Port Sunlight, which attempted to realise a utopian vision.

7. Heterotopia III: Reformatories.

Places for the ‘mad, the bad and the sad’ (Markus) in which compliant ‘bodies’ (Foucault) have been worked upon and rehabilitated to conform to notions of normality and the social ideal.

8. Heterotopia IV: Informatories.

Seeing the pages of the utopian novel as a ‘site’ of change in its own right – a place where the reader forms and reforms their own thinking and applies new ideas to one’s self.

Teaching method(s)

Each class will combine lecture and group discussion.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Read and investigate utopian literature for themselves;

• Use the appropriate language and understand concepts such as ‘heterotopia’;

• Provide examples of various types of utopia and heterotopia;

• Relate ‘purist’ ideals to their compromised use in everyday settings;

• Think about buildings and cities in terms of underlying social relationships of power.

Sources

Core Readings

Essential:

• Foucault, M., 1977. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. London: Peregrine.

• Hetherington, K., 1997. The Badlands of Modernity: Heterotopia and Social Ordering. London: Routledge.

• Markus, T., 1993. Buildings and Power: Freedom and Control in the Origin of Modern Building Types. London: Routledge.

• More, T., 1516. Utopia. Copyright Free eBook.

Recommended:

• Morton, A. L., 1952. The English Utopia. London: Lawrence & Wishart.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.