The Utopian Study
The Republic
Brave New World
Unit 3 emphasizes the study of utopias through out history. The first study is The Republic. The Republic is the first written example of a possible utopia. It was the recorded conversation between the great philosopher Socrates and a few other citizens of Greece. They discussed a new society from its basic origins to it final complexity. Students will learn how this particular utopia uses a mix of governmental forms to maintain itself. It should be noted that many parts of The Republic have existed at one time or another throughout human history.
Brave New World was written in the 1932 by Aldous Huxley. It is his satire of how the world is predicted to be in the year 2500 AD at its current rate of change. Moreover, Brave New World is a warning from Huxley to not let a utopia of this particular design gain a foothold as it would be the ultimate revolution resulting in a permanent state of slavery for its populace.
At the conclusion of this unit students will understand some of the key concepts of how the perfect society could operate and maintain stability. Finally, students will recognize how great writers over the course of time have composed many utopias, that each of these utopias have similarities with between one another, and that every utopia is unique in its approach to be created.