UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA

DYSTOPIA AND UTOPIA dystopia (n.) "imaginary bad place," 1868, apparently coined by J.S. Mill ("Hansard Commons"), from Greek dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult" (see dys-) + utopia. Related: Dystopian.dys-utopia utopia (n.) 1551, from Modern Latin Utopia, literally "nowhere," coined by Thomas More (and used as title of his book, 1516, about an imaginary island enjoying the utmost perfection in legal, social, and political systems), from Greek ou "not" + topos "place" Source:

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UTOPIAN CONCEPTS A beautiful society with a general pacifistic attitude Poverty and misery are removed Very few laws are necessary Money is not necessary People do only work that they enjoy and which benefits the common good

RELATED IDEAS: SCIENCE Advanced science and technology will abolish suffering and death

DYSTOPIA The antonym of utopia An imaginary place where people lead dehumanised and often fearful lives

DYTSTOPIAN CONCEPTS Totalitarian dictatorship Glorification and justification of violence Technology replaces humanity Negative social trends are taken to nightmarish extremes

CHARACTERISTICS OF DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE Fictional and futuristic Dystopias serve as warnings to comtemporary people Comment on our own current society

DYSTOPIA IN THE MAKING WHAT IF... No one had to go to school? You could have an iPod in your brain? Your computer could read your thoughts? No one had to pay taxes? Everyone had plastic surgery? Babies were scientifically created?

Utopian and dystopian societies are often present in science fiction literature. A utopia refers to a perfect society that does not exist or can never exist  Star Trek is an example of a utopian society because humankind has overcome sickness, racism, poverty, and warfare

A dystopia is the opposite of a utopia and is usually characterized by a totalitarian society. What does totalitarian mean?  In short, it refers to a society in which nearly every aspect of public and private behavior is regulated by the state. Characteristics of a dystopian society:  A poor standard of living among the lower and middle classes  A protagonist that questions the society  Set in the future but resembles contemporary society  A current example is The Hunger Games.

Character Development Examples of how society is a utopia or dystopia Foreshadowing Important Plot Events Symbolism Important Theme Development Quotable Quotes

UTOPIAN/DYSTOPIAN NOVELS UNIT *You will read The Giver as a class and complete discussions and activities on the novel. *You will read one more novel of the same genre from the list and discuss the novel with your literature circle. *You will need to bring your novel to class each Tuesday for discussion. *Upon completing the activities for both novels, you will work in a group of your choice to complete a project in which you will design a Utopian society. The guidelines are very specific and you must complete all aspects of the society and present it to the class to get credit.