Watch Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature

Name: Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature
Released: 2017-02-03
Cast: Pamela Bedore

2017
1 Season

Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature from The Great Courses Signature Collection starring Pamela Bedore is an educational show that delves into the world of classic literature in order to examine the utopian and dystopian societies presented within their pages. Over the course of 24 lectures, viewers are taken on a journey through a range of different literary works, from ancient Greek classics to modern-day science fiction. Bedore, who is a professor of English at the University of Connecticut, serves as the show's host and lead lecturer. Her passion for literature is evident in every lecture, as she expertly guides viewers through each work, providing detailed background information on the author and the society in which each work was written. Her insights help viewers to better understand the themes and messages that each work is trying to convey. The show begins with a look at Plato's Republic, which is perhaps the earliest work of literature to feature a utopian society. From there, the lectures move on to examine other notable works, such as Thomas More's Utopia, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Throughout these lectures, viewers are introduced to the key themes and ideas that each work presents, as well as the social and historical context in which they were written. One of the show's greatest strengths is its ability to draw connections between different literary works. For example, viewers are shown how H.G. Wells' The Time Machine draws on many of the same themes found in other dystopian works, such as George Orwell's 1984 and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. By examining these works in relation to one another, viewers gain a deeper understanding of the overall context and impact of each work. Another highlight of the show is its emphasis on the relevance of these works to modern-day society. While some of the works examined may be hundreds of years old, their themes and messages are often just as relevant today as they were when they were first written. For example, the show examines Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, which has seen a surge in popularity in recent years due to its adaptation into a television series. By examining this work in relation to other dystopian works, Bedore is able to highlight the ways in which it speaks to modern-day concerns around issues such as reproductive rights and authoritarianism. Overall, Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature is an engaging and thought-provoking show that serves as a great introduction to the world of classic literature. Whether you're an English literature major or simply someone who enjoys reading, there is something here for everyone. Bedore's enthusiastic and knowledgeable approach to the subject will keep viewers engaged from start to finish, and the insights and connections drawn between different works will leave viewers with a deeper understanding of the themes and issues at the heart of these classic works of literature.

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Seasons

24. The Future of Utopia and Dystopia

February 3, 2017

Reflect on how dystopia shows us the darker side of contemporary reality right here in our connected global world, focusing on issues we struggle with every day. Conclude with the recurring theme around utopian yearnings and the sinister road that leads to dystopia, proving that the perfect place is no place. This powerful genre embodies a simultaneous optimism and cynicism.

23. Apocalyptic Literature in the 21st Century

February 3, 2017

Review the four major apocalyptic sources: technological, biomedical, environmental, or supernatural, and explore bodies of work that utilize each one. You'll see how even the worst dystopian situations often sneak hopes of utopian thinking into the stories because humanity survives on a core of optimism that whispers that no matter how bad things get, we can imagine something better.

22. Cyberpunk Dystopia: Doctorow and Anderson

February 3, 2017

The cyberpunk genre often features advanced information technology. Through satire or in earnest, we get at the same anxieties about contemporary American society: the internet has amazing potential to create a better, more egalitarian world, but we may be going about it all wrong, creating a new generation of young people who rely on technology without truly understanding it.

21. Suzanne Collins and Dystopian Games

February 3, 2017

Does it seem like a lot of the most popular books for young adults lately have been dystopias? In this lecture, explore why teens are so drawn to dystopia, what current anxieties are being tracked in this large body of YA literature, and what the impact of this literature on young adult readers has been. You'll also discover why this subgenre is so popular with adults.

20. Margaret Atwood and Environmental Dystopia

February 3, 2017

Margaret Atwood is an icon in utopian and dystopian fiction. Explore the ways she has helped to shape utopian thought and sexual politics with one of her classic novels, The Handmaid's Tale, as well as her more recent MaddAddam trilogy. Atwood is known for apocalyptic writing but you'll see how even her darkest works have elements of humor and satire with intrinsic meaning.

19. Octavia Butler and Utopian Hybridity

January 1, 1970

Examine the many ways Butler challenges boundaries - not only of genres, but also of human identity. See how she tackles the questions that are important in defining utopian futures: what does it mean to be human? Is utopia always an unresolvable paradox? And if it is, does it have to be? How much can we change and still be considered human? And really, does being human even matter?

18. Octavia Butler and the Utopian Alien

February 3, 2017

None of Octavia Butler's writings fit perfectly into the categories of utopia or dystopia, but she is vital to this study because her utopian writing represents a turning point that moves us from the feminist utopian renaissance of the 1970s to the more complex negotiation between utopian and dystopian impulses that helped shape the genres as they are today.

17. Samuel Delany and Heterotopia

February 3, 2017

Focusing on Trouble on Triton, explore the ways Delany introduces readers to ambiguous heterotopia through a society where your identity (such as sex, race, religion, and sexual preference) can easily be changed. Investigate whether this abundance of individual freedom results in utopia or dystopia.

16. Ursula K. Le Guin and the Ambiguous Utopia

February 3, 2017

Delve into the science fiction-based worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, who approaches various situations with an open mind, drawing upon disciplines like physics, anthropology, and fine arts. She builds worlds in which people attempt all kinds of strategies of governance. Discover how Le Guin uses sci-fi and utopia to explore LGBTQ issues with the intent to change our views on gender and sexuality.

15. The Feminist Utopian Movement of the 1970s

February 3, 2017

The feminist utopian movement began in the 1970s and, despite the name, doesn't feature very many traditional "utopias." There is a guarded optimism represented in these novels that dealt with real-world issues of discrimination by creating societies portrayed as classless, crimeless, government-free, but laden with satire.

14. Anthony Burgess, Free Will, and Dystopia

February 3, 2017

Delve deeper into the central question of free will and how utopian studies respond emotionally and intellectually by examining A Clockwork Orange. Discover the literature that influenced it and was impacted by it, while exploring the nuanced differences between reading and watching this pivotal work. Burgess looks at extreme situations to pose questions we continue to struggle with.

13. Philip K. Dick's Dystopian Crime Prevention

February 3, 2017

Look at the portrayal of community, choice, and rules to determine when the sacrifices being made cross the threshold between a completely perfect society and a complete lack of freedom. As the genre starts to tackle "big" questions of philosophy around individual free will, the line blurs and we are left with dystopias that are dressed up to look like utopias.

12. John Wyndham and Young Adult Dystopia

February 3, 2017

Published during the wave of anti-communist hysteria of the 1950s, John Wyndham's The Chrysalids is one of the earliest examples of Young Adult dystopian fiction and a potent examination of the "fear of the Other" in dystopian storytelling. See how it set the stage for the extremely rich strain of dystopian literature aimed at younger readers that dominates bestseller lists in the 21st century.

11. George Orwell and Totalitarian Dystopia

February 3, 2017

Perhaps the most famous of the three defining dystopias of the early 20th century, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four has created a vocabulary of ideas we continue to use in political discourse today. Trace the ways Orwell uses language to shape his dystopic vision and the way it both reflects and distorts reality.

10. Aldous Huxley and Dystopian Pleasure

February 3, 2017

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, published in 1932, is the second of the "Big Three" dystopian novels of the interwar years. Investigate the ways Huxley projects the anxieties of his day onto the future, creating a world in which people are controlled not by pain or fear, but by pleasure, and consider how utopian and dystopia are often only matters of perspective.

9. Yevgeny Zamyatin and Dystopian Uniformity

February 3, 2017

Shift your attention from utopian blueprints to the cautionary tales of dystopia and explore the origins of the genre and the complex ways it functions in literature. Examine the period between World War I and World War II that produced the "Big Three Dystopias" and dive into the earliest of them, We by Yevgeny Zamyatin.

8. Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Gendered Utopia

February 3, 2017

Many utopian stories were concerned with the quest to determine where women belong in an ideal society. Charlotte Perkins Gilman went a step further by creating a utopian society populated solely by women: Herland. See how questions of gender equality are reframed without the reference of an opposite gender and the impact of Gilman's vision on the feminist movements of the later 20th century.

7. H.G. Wells and Utopian Science Fiction

February 3, 2017

Unlike the utopian tradition, science fiction doesn't have a single text that defines its origin. It does, however, have several figures credited with its creation. One such figure is H.G. Wells, who not only helped in the creation of science fiction as a genre, but was also deeply devoted to utopian thinking. Ultimately, his work brought utopia and science fiction together in the same space.

6. Edward Bellamy and Utopian Activism

February 3, 2017

Can utopian literature have real-world impact? This question is integral to understanding the significance of Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy. Witness the ways Bellamy's socialist vision of the future had genuine influence on the social activists of Gilded Age America. Professor Bedore also introduces the idea of "euchronia."

5. Samuel Butler and Utopian Technologies

February 3, 2017

Shift your attention from rural American utopias to explore from a different perspective: Victorian anxieties about technology and the vanishing frontier. Analyze these fears in Samuel Butler's Erewhon, which utilizes utopian conventions and heavy doses of satire to critique religion, health, education, and humanity's increasingly complex relationship to machines.

4. American Dreamers: Hawthorne and Alcott

February 3, 2017

The 19th century was the "century of utopia" and also marked the transition from utopian to dystopian stories in popular literature. Look at Americans who attempted to build real-world utopias, and in turn examine the work of two authors who reacted to the American attempt at perfect societies. Consider the ways that optimistic, utopian thinking is integral to the idea of the American Dream.

3. Swift, Voltaire, and Utopian Satire

February 3, 2017

Continue your exploration of the early history of utopia by examining notable works produced during the two centuries following More's initial work. Compare and contrast the ideas of "classical utopia" and "critical utopia" and understand how laughter was an integral part of 18th-century utopian storytelling, focusing on Voltaire's Candide and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

2. Thomas More and Utopian Origins

February 3, 2017

Take a step back and learn about the origins of the utopian genre, beginning with Thomas More's Utopia of 1516. More's foundational work gave us the word "utopia," but did it create the genre? Explore the elements of the story to see how it set conventions for later works but also critiqued the very idea of utopia in the process.

1. Utopia: The Perfect Nowhere

February 3, 2017

Enter the world of utopian and dystopian fiction. After a brief foray into the definition and origin of utopia, dive into Ursula K. LeGuin's short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas and explore the ambiguities of "perfect" worlds. Then, get a deeper understanding of the ways genre functions and how it shapes literature.#Literature & Learning

Description

Bedore, who is a professor of English at the University of Connecticut, serves as the show's host and lead lecturer. Her passion for literature is evident in every lecture, as she expertly guides viewers through each work, providing detailed background information on the author and the society in which each work was written. Her insights help viewers to better understand the themes and messages that each work is trying to convey.

The show begins with a look at Plato's Republic, which is perhaps the earliest work of literature to feature a utopian society. From there, the lectures move on to examine other notable works, such as Thomas More's Utopia, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Throughout these lectures, viewers are introduced to the key themes and ideas that each work presents, as well as the social and historical context in which they were written.

One of the show's greatest strengths is its ability to draw connections between different literary works. For example, viewers are shown how H.G. Wells' The Time Machine draws on many of the same themes found in other dystopian works, such as George Orwell's 1984 and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. By examining these works in relation to one another, viewers gain a deeper understanding of the overall context and impact of each work.

Another highlight of the show is its emphasis on the relevance of these works to modern-day society. While some of the works examined may be hundreds of years old, their themes and messages are often just as relevant today as they were when they were first written. For example, the show examines Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, which has seen a surge in popularity in recent years due to its adaptation into a television series. By examining this work in relation to other dystopian works, Bedore is able to highlight the ways in which it speaks to modern-day concerns around issues such as reproductive rights and authoritarianism.

Overall, Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature is an engaging and thought-provoking show that serves as a great introduction to the world of classic literature. Whether you're an English literature major or simply someone who enjoys reading, there is something here for everyone. Bedore's enthusiastic and knowledgeable approach to the subject will keep viewers engaged from start to finish, and the insights and connections drawn between different works will leave viewers with a deeper understanding of the themes and issues at the heart of these classic works of literature.