James Seth

A3: Teaching Utopian Literature at the College Level

          As a college writing instructor, I feel that utopian literature offers a useful discourse in higher education. Though many of my students are non-traditional adult students, I also teach a number of recent high school graduates who have been exposed—or perhaps overexposed—to dystopian fiction. For many, the utopian genre seems adolescent or perhaps “cut and dry,” as noted by student Mallory Rogers. Utopian worlds in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and L Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz conjure up images of infantile fantasy and wonder. By the time many students enter high school, the fantasy has died, giving way to dystopian interests. While critics of utopian fiction claim it is too simple, childish, or idealized, I would argue that utopian literature can be intellectually stimulating. This essay will first address the popularity of dystopian fiction in public schools and then present useful ways of integrating utopian fiction into early college-level courses.

THE DYSTOPIAN DRAW IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

If one were to ask me why dystopian fiction is frequently used in American curriculum (Objective 5c), I would say that the dominant themes in dystopian literature connect to many of the pressures and expectations of junior high and high school students, in the very broadest sense. Dystopian literature, such as Ayn Rand’s Anthem, emphasizes themes of heroic individualism (Objective 1a) and self-reliance. Rand’s protagonist Prometheus is known originally as Equality 7-2521, attesting to the way that his government creates his identity at birth.  The theme of heroic individualism is perhaps more appreciated in a place where success and failure is highly quantified; for example, high schools often give out class ranks, and grades are recorded as numbers rather than letters. This quantification also occurs in standardized testing, which serves as, for better or worse, the hallmark of the American public school system. However, the emphasis on calculated scores virtually disappears in college. The course that I teach, for instance, does not even use the traditional letter grading system because it is a developmental course in writing, and several of my college professors have stated that the final grade is not mathematically calculated, but assessed by students’ overall efforts or their level of improvement in the course.

The high school English curriculum often includes texts such as George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World to stress the value of independent thought in a totalitarian regime, which is important for high school students who have not yet found their individual voice, or discovered their individual talents, skills, preferences, and beliefs. In the selection from the Lois Lowry novel The Giver, Jonas is given the job of Receiver, and is “selected, as others before him had, to bear their burden.” Rather than wanting to be fulfill his predetermined role, he “wanted his childhood again, his scraped knees and ball games” (121). Jonas is struck by individual celebrations, such as birthday parties, where a child “understood the joy of being an individual, special and unique and proud” (121). The popularity of the dystopian novel in the public school system is often qualified by the way that it relates to their lives, perhaps to the angst of maturation, and perhaps also to the pressure to conform. In her research post on dystopian teen fiction, Jenna claims that “The young reader of today demands a story in which the characters and incidents are relevant to their own world while simultaneously drudging through issues that were previously off limits.” Though Prometheus in Anthem is completely restricted from scientific knowledge, he finds a way to satisfy this curiosity and manifests it into something useful. For teens, finding a way to connect the “off limits” topics in literature with their own lives can be challenging. Nonetheless, I think that it is ultimately purposeful in getting them to better understand topics such as sex, violence, totalitarianism, intellectual restriction, conformity, and others in a fictional scenario.

BALANCING EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT

In regards to Objective 1e, Utopian fiction shares the challenging task of literature, which is to entertain and educate. One of the draws of dystopian literature is its exciting plots and well-developed characters, making it a more pleasurable genre in terms of reading consumption. Learning how to balance pleasure and ideas is not only a task for the utopian writer, but also for the college instructor, and virtually any teacher. According to student Kathleen Breaux, “we must keep in mind that education, like perfection, is not a destination, but a journey.” How to make that “journey” both exciting and informative can often pose a challenge. For in-class discussion and paper topics, I give my class short articles relating to a social problem that gets my students to think, talk, and engage. These texts are not classified as a literature of pleasure, but a motivating literature of ideas, and I choose topics that will initiate conversation and spark debates. However, in fully constructed worlds such as Thomas More’s Utopia and Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia, there is a sense of unity and functionality when the protagonist enters the community. This relates to my point in my midterm that “One of the detractions of the Utopian narrative is the absence of conflict (Objective 2b).” Finding ways to talk about social issues, rather than plot developments, is something that occurs not only in the utopian course, but in a number of college courses.

The college classroom is often designed to challenge high school curriculum, specifically by dismantling firmly-held beliefs about education, introducing students to different classroom dynamics, and exposing students to social, political, and cultural knowledge that is not deeply explored in the public school system. In addition, when students reach the college level, many of their courses and extracurricular activities will, at least on the outset, emphasize collectivity and social improvement rather than individual success. I think that reading utopian literature compliments many aspects of the college experience and can be effectively paired with a seminar-style class design and an emphasis on group discussion, rather than traditional lecturing.

THE SEMINAR AS MODEL UTOPIA

In the college composition course, especially an honors course, students are expected to evaluate literature and ideas as a conversation, rather than a soliloquy. The word discourse is often introduced to describe how the texts speak to each other, react to one another, and create new dialogues and discourses. For high school students, the heroic individualist plot is fairly simple to latch onto and apply to their own lives, where they are pressured to stand out from the crowd, whether by clothing, fads, grades, hair and makeup, or test scores. However, as high school students enter a larger space, the college campus, they are forced to assimilate into a crowd while simultaneously finding their own unique place within it. Therefore, it may become necessary to introduce literature that speaks to this experience, of creating paradise from dystopia and joining all of the voices together, of enjoying life amidst a large group of peers and discovering truth through collective engagement.

Addressing Objective 5a, the seminar classroom functions as a utopia in many respects, and since seminars are prominently used in colleges and universities, it seems fitting that utopian literature be taught at this level with a colloquia. The roundtable discussion between classmates will encourage mutual respect with each other and will eliminate a totalitarian set-up, where the instructor is positioned as the supreme ruler of the class. In terms of discussing topics and issues within the literature, works such as Ecotopia and Herland address adult issues, such as sex and politics, which incoming college students can discuss more intelligently and professionally than high school students. Adult utopian fiction offers a range of social, cultural, and political topics that can be discussed without a major conflict or a predictable plot sequence. For example, the ecological developments in Ecotopia, such as their use of biodegradable plastics and alternative energy sources, can start conversations on energy, the environment, corporate responsibility, and bioethics.

In terms of classroom structure, the seminar style often creates the most peaceful and respectful group of students, largely because all students are facing one another and can talk directly to one another. In traditional lecture-style courses, feelings of competition can arise, since the conversation is largely directed to the instructor, rather than to other classmates. Rather than discussing issues as a team, students often vie for the attention of the professor. In my experience, seminar style classes are also generally smaller than most lecture courses, and students establish greater relationships with their peers. In many cases, students bring food, reveal information about their personal lives, and, generally, are less insecure about voicing their opinions on issues. While many students claim that utopias “don’t work,” they may still be possible in classroom instruction, where everyone has equal say, equal work, and can still express their individual beliefs.

Works Cited

Callenbach, Ernest. Ecotopia. New York: Bantam, 1975.

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. Herland. New York: Pantheon, 1979.

Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Dell Laurel Leaf, 1993.

Rand, Ayn. Anthem. New York: Signet, 1961.