Perfect? Utopias, Dystopias, and the Sociological Imaginary

Don’t mess with perfection: this is the promise, as well as the trap, of utopian visions. Utopian literature criticizes existing worlds, offering plans for a better society, with better people to stock it. Since one person’s utopia can be another’s dystopia, this “good society” can intensify tensions it promises to resolve. From Plato’s Republic to Marx’s Communist Manifesto, we will study utopias and dystopias as theories of society and expressions of sociological perspectives. We use sociology to explore the possibilities and limits of utopian thinking, then turn the tables and employ utopias to rethink the uses of sociology. 3 hrs. sem.