Amy L. Sasser

6 July 2013

It Is Known:

Teaching Utopias and Dystopias in Today’s Schools

Our recent study of utopias demonstrated just how rarely the subject is addressed in more than a passing glance in today’s educational systems.  It is amazing how few graduate students in literature have really read or studied utopian texts.  More fascinating still is the fact that almost all of us had some direct exposure to dystopian classics like 1984 or Anthem.  So why, then, is utopia not more of a topic of study amongst students at any age, particularly high school?

One of our classmates posited a theory as to why Utopia is not taught in public schools as a matter of course.  Michael Luna suggested that dystopias remain the primary focus in the classroom because we live in the United States of America, the land of opportunity, often presented in and of itself as a utopia.  If students are currently living in such a state, then what is the point of forcing them to read the often dry texts associated with it?  While Luna’s theory is interesting, I don’t think there was that much reasoning that went into the decision from an administrative standpoint.  Instead, I believe a main problem with any book assigned in school is simply getting the student to read it in the first place.  As we have seen with both Thomas More’s Utopia and Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s Herland, the strictly utopian novel can tend toward monotony and long-winded discussions or explanations which will leave struggling readers feeling defeated from the first page.  As educators, if we lose the interest of the reader on the first page, we may never get the opportunity to earn it back.  But, does that mean utopias should be black-balled from the curriculum?

Of course not!  Utopia is a valuable study.  Our understanding of dystopias becomes more clear if we know what the flipside is.  So, how can we present the information without losing interest?  One way is to stick to what we know first.  Teach students the traditional dystopian texts like 1984, Anthem, and The Giver.  However, as we go through and identify the protagonist’s reasons for rebellion, we should have students consider the flipside.  What if they were one of the happy or oblivious who were completely satisfied with the status quo?  This higher-order of thinking could be taken to many different places, depending on time constraints.  Students could be asked to write a journal as that character on the flipside of the dystopian hero so they must consider and explain why everything the hero thinks is “bad” would be “good” from their viewpoint.  In going back to Luna’s argument, we might even ask students how America is a utopian or dystopian society, and have them back up their opinion with research and facts.  One need not slog through a laborious text like Looking Backward in order to understand what utopia is.

That said, however, anyone wishing to teach such activities and fill a young learner’s mind with new knowledge should study more in-depth as we have done this semester.  Knowing where to find the utopian texts and what parts to glean useful descriptions, quotes, or ideas from is the difference between keeping and losing an interested student.  Perhaps sharing some of the more interesting excerpts from several different texts rather than forcing the oddities in language and style of something like Utopia on them can keep them intrigued.  Much like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” story, students like to be in charge of parts of their learning, so allowing them to come up with other paths or to write creatively to create their own utopian vision could also be helpful.  Chances are, they will know much more about utopia than they may have supposed they did; that is what happened with most of us in this course.

As to knowledge of the conventions or norms of utopian literature, students will often bring so much more to the table than expected.  One way to assess their existing knowledge is to use varying terminology.  For example, rather than asking them what they know of utopias, you might ask what their ideal school or city would look like.  I have found that any opportunity to relate a difficult subject to something they already know helps students to be more confident in their learning and more willing to continue the journey with an instructor.  Some students have probably never considered any practical applications of a utopian society, but many have played video games like “The Sims” where they are the architects of entire cities and must face and overcome unexpected obstacles from natural disasters to water shortages, or from their people having small conflicts to large-scale riots.  This may seem like an extreme example, but tying into what they know and the ideals they have for how life should look.  A game like this can show them how quickly even a well-planned society might go awry.

In short, I think that teaching the concept of utopias is a valuable and useful endeavor.  It is simply a matter of figuring out how best to do so in relation to the particular student body in question.  While Utopia, Herland, and Ecotopia may be required reading for college students, high schoolers merely need an acquaintance with the concepts espoused in these works.  While one may argue that students already know the strictures of a utopia, a little review is always helpful.  In the end, knowing a little about utopia might help us get closer to having one in the here and now.