At the end of the course students should be able to:

• interpret independently a work in relation to Western utopian and dystopian ideas
  
• express the results of that interpretation in well-structured essay that is an argument about a significant and warranted thesis
  
• formulate and pursue independent research
  
• compare representations of utopia and dystopia works in various media and academic fields
  
• speak in public with increased confidence
  

Percentages for each required graded category are figured via a percentage of a 12-pt. scale in which an A+ =12 and
an F=0 points. For example, a B+ on paper 1 would net you 9 x .15 or .1.35 points.  Or, a C on participation nets you 5 x .15 or .75.  I then add up the percentage points for each required category to determine your grade.  For example, an 8.2 final score = B for the class.

Participation includes your grades on periodic quizzes, and coming to class prepared, having done the readings and being able to talk and write about them intelligently.

You must complete all the required work to pass the class.  I will grade plus/minus.

Attendance: You are allowed 3 absences. If you are absent, unexcused, more than 3 times over the course of the semester, your absences will count progressively against your final grade, as a significant part --10%--of your final grade. Every 2 unexcused absences beyond the allowed 3 loses you a half letter grade. Anyone who misses the first two classes can be immediately dropped from the class. For the definition of an unexcused absence, see http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/pols_regs/REG205.00.4.php

Plagiarism: Anyone convicted will receive an F for the paper, or the course at my discretion.
And yes, I have caught people in the past--just last semester.

Late Papers: Papers received ONE class session late will be accepted but docked a full grade.
No late papers accepted after one class session late.

Disabilities: Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability Services for Students at 1900 Student Health Center, Campus
            Box 7509, 515-7653. http://www.ncsu.edu/dss/

Academic Integrity Assumption
Universities are unique communities committed to creating and transmitting knowledge. They depend on freedom - individuals' freedom to explore ideas and to explore and further their own capabilities. Those freedoms depend on the good will and responsible behavior of all the members of the community, who must treat each other with tolerance and respect. They must allow each other to develop the full range of their capabilities and take full advantage of the institution's resources.

Required Texts & Resources
Print Texts --available now in the NCSU bookstore. Other media in bold.

1. Plato. Republic. Ed. and trans. C. D. C. Reeve. Hackett, 2000.  
2. More, Thomas. Utopia.  Norton, 1992. 
3. Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels (online etext:  http://lee.jaffebros.com/gulliver/bk4/ )
4. Scott, Sarah. A Description of Millenium Hall. Broadview,  1995. 
5. Sullivan, Arthur and W. S. Gilbert. Utopia Ltd, or the Flowers of Progress (CD); libretto for same (online: http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/utopia/html/index.html )
6. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. Herland. Dover, 1998.
7. Capra, Frank. Lost Horizon. (DVD shown in Honor's Village tba)
8. Skinner, B. F. Walden II.  Macmillan, 1976.
9. Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Ballantine, 1996.
10. Scott, Ridley. Blade Runner (DVD shown in Honor's Village tba)
11. Callenbach, Ernest. Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston. Bantam, 1990.
12. Guggenheim, Davis. An Inconvenient Truth. (DVD shown in Honor's Village tba)

How to Use the Oxford English Dictionary Online (Morillo)

Sample Works for Final Research Papers:
Genesis
Book of Revelations
Dante Alligheri Divine Comedy (1315?)
Butler, Samuel Erewhon (1872)
Bellamy, Edward. Looking Backwards 2000-1887 (1888)
Morris, William. News from Nowhere (1890)
Wells, H. G. A Modern Utopia (1905)
Lang, Fritz. Metropolis (1927 film)
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World (1932)
Orwell, George. 1984 (1949)
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange (1962)
Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring (1962)
Kubrick, Stanley. A Clockwork Orange (1971 film)
Miller, George. Mad Max (1979 film)
Gibson, William. Neuromancer (1984)
Gilliam, Terry. Brazil (1985 film)
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale (1986)
Jones, Garret. Ourtopia (2004)
Cuaron, Alphonso. Children of Men (2006 film)
Dystopia (music group) (computer game)

McCarthy, Cormac. The Road (novel)
Stoppard, Tom. Coast of Utopia (3-play trilogy; utopian thinking in 19th-c Russia)
Marx, Karl. Communist Manifesto