Imagining Freedom
In speculative fiction from Thomas More’s Utopia to the most recent offerings of post-cyberpunk, questions of freedom have been central to depictions of utopian and dystopian societies. In the perennial quest to envision a better world, authors of fantasy and science fiction have repeatedly asked how much individual freedom is enough, whether there can be too much, what happens when there is too little. Issues of regulation and resistance, structure and anarchy, stasis and potential permeate these treatments, shaping both dreams and nightmares of what just might be possible.
Through the writing of shorter reflections and longer expositions, we will explore some key written and filmed examples of this speculation, sampling texts by some of such authors/filmmakers as More, Mark Twain, Fritz Lang, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Margaret Atwood, Anthony Burgess, Alex Proyas, Andrew Niccol, Ken McLeod and William Gibson. Emphasizing the “re-visioning” aspect of revision, we will address the writer’s challenges of imagining an audience, finding a voice, structuring an argument, and refining presentation. Assignments will ask you to assess texts analytically and persuade cogently, as you wrestle with abstract terms, slippery concepts, and indeterminate characterizations. Class sessions will focus on close reading/revision of student writing, discussion of our authors’/filmmakers’ views, and wild speculation of our own.
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