ENGL 12036 - The City As Utopia & Dystopia

Course Credit: 1
THE CITY AS UTOPIA & DYSTOPIA More than half the world’s population currently lives in cities, and the United Nations expects that figure to rise to sixty-eight percent by 2050. Mass urbanization has produced myriad literary depictions of the city. Some writers speculate on the utopian possibilities of city life; others emphasize the corruption, disease, and anomie endemic in densely populated urban environments. The city itself often becomes a character, a leviathan with its own emotions and motivations. This course will focus on utopian and dystopian visions of the city from the Industrial Revolution to the present day. Texts will include Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Alan Moore’s Watchmen, and Zadie Smith’s NW, as well as an assortment of short stories and poems. [AH]