From Cloud Cuckoo Land to Atlantis: Utopian thinking in the Ancient World

CAHE20141 From Cloud Cuckoo Land to Atlantis: Utopian thinking in the Ancient World 20 Semester 1 Undergraduate Level 2 Jenny Bryan Unit coordinator 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Middle part of Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 Imagining ‘other’ worlds and ‘perfect’ societies is one of the many activities that links our modern world to antiquity. This course considers some of the many ‘utopias’ developed by ancient authors, from ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ in Aristophanes’ comedy, to Plato’s ‘Republic’, to Lucian’s account of life on the moon. We will consider why these authors and philosophers chose to imagine other worlds and how they expected their ideas to affect this world. We will also look at the influence of ancient utopian thinking on modern political thought and make comparisons with utopian ideas found in cultures beyond Greece and Rome. Imagining ‘other’ worlds and ‘perfect’ societies is one of the many activities that links our modern world to antiquity. This course considers some of the many ‘utopias’ developed by ancient authors, from ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ in Aristophanes’ comedy, to Plato’s ‘Republic’, to Lucian’s account of life on the moon. We will consider why these authors and philosophers chose to imagine other worlds and how they expected their ideas to affect this world. We will also look at the influence of ancient utopian thinking on modern political thought and make comparisons with utopian ideas found in cultures beyond Greece and Rome. <ul> <li style="text-align:justify; margin-left:8px">to introduce students to the nature and purpose of utopian thinking</li> <li style="text-align:justify; margin-left:8px">to introduce students to the wide range of utopian thinking found in ancient Greece and other cultures</li> <li style="text-align:justify; margin-left:8px">to introduce students to a representative comparative sample of texts written by Greek and other authors</li> <li style="text-align:justify; margin-left:8px">to encourage students to reflect on the influence of ancient utopian thinking on modern political and literary thought</li> <li style="text-align:justify; margin-left:8px">to enable students to discuss political and cultural alternatives with confidence and critical insight</li></ul> By the end of this course unit, students will:<ul> <li>have read and discussed a wide range of examples of utopian thought from ancient Greece and other cultures</li> <li>have come to understand the variety and complexity of purpose and presentation of utopian thought</li> <li>have critically evaluated a variety of examples of ‘utopia’</li> <li>have come to understand the influence of ancient utopian thinking on modern thought</li></ul> By the end of this course unit, students will<ul> <li>have developed their ability to critically evaluate political and cultural alternatives</li> <li>have developed their ability to compare and contrast different political and utopian suggestions</li> <li>have learned the value of considering suggestions with which they disagree</li> <li>have developed their ability to recognise the influence of the ancient world and its reception in modern political thinking and literature</li></ul> By the end of this course units, students will<ul> <li>have improved their ability to produce written summaries of their analysis</li> <li>have improved their ability to participate in robust, critical discussion of ideas</li> <li>have improved their ability to engage with material unfamiliar to them from across a range of genres</li> <li>have developed their ability to produce poster presentations, condensing complex ideas into accessible summaries</li></ul> By the end of this course units, students will<ul> <li>have improved their ability to produce written summaries of analyses of texts and ideas</li> <li>have improved their confidence in participating in group discussions</li> <li>have improved their ability to adapt to a wide range of unfamiliar ideas and recognize connections between them</li></ul> This course contributes to students’ employability by encouraging them to develop both the critical intellectual skills of analysis and synthesis, and the practical skills of group discussions, clear presentations, and written summaries. 0 Other 100% <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:500px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td>Assessment task</td> <td>Formative or Summative</td> <td>Weighting within unit (if summative)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Text analysis</td> <td>Formative</td> <td>n/a </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Poster</td> <td>Summative</td> <td>50%</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Coursework essay</td> <td>Summative</td> <td>50%</td> </tr> </tbody></table> Resit Assessment<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:200px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td>Assessment task</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Coursework essay</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table class="Table" style="width:662px; margin-left:7px; border-collapse:collapse; border:none" width="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:321px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black" valign="top">Feedback method </td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:340px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">Formative or Summative</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:321px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black" valign="top">Written feedback on Text Analysis</td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:340px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">Formative</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:321px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black" valign="top">Written feedback on summative assessments</td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:340px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">Formative and Summative</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:321px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; height:7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black" valign="top">Oral feedback in lectures, seminars and office hours</td> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; width:340px; padding:0cm 7px 0cm 7px; height:7px; border-top:none; border-right:1px solid black; border-left:none" valign="top">Formative</td> </tr> </tbody></table> Y <ul> <li style="text-align:justify; margin-left:8px">Plato Republic, Laws, Timaeus-Critias</li> <li style="text-align:justify; margin-left:8px">Lucian True History</li> <li style="text-align:justify; margin-left:8px">Homer Odyssey</li> <li style="text-align:justify; margin-left:8px">Aristophanes Birds</li> <li style="text-align:justify; margin-left:8px">Utopias in Ancient Thought (2021) edited by P. Destrée, J. Opsomer, and G. Roskam</li> <li style="text-align:justify; margin-bottom:13px; margin-left:8px">The Concept of Utopia (1990) R. Levitas</li></ul> Lectures 22 Seminars 11 0 167