COR 371 UTOPIAS AND DYSTOPIAS
What would a perfect society look like? Why is American so fascinated with post-apocalyptic entertainment? What roles do imagined futures play in our current social and political decision making? Such questions will orient this class where we wrestle with the cultural mirrors of utopia and dystopia, exploring representations found in novels, films, and other forms. This course emphasizes integration across disciplines and frameworks of thought, requiring students to think critically and imaginatively. No one perspective can fully make sense of these topics, and as such we will fully embrace trespassing disciplinary boundaries. This will necessitate an engagement with sociology, religion, psychology, history, art, technology and environmental studies among others. This multifaceted approach will help us harness the power of multiple ways of thinking, as well as leverage the various expertise students bring with them from their diverse academic homes. Students will construct a core capstone project that will integrate and apply their experiences at Elon, providing an opportunity to reflect on the larger Elon Core Curriculum mission of personal responsibility, ethical reasoning, and global citizenship.