The Quest for Utopia
*This course is intended for upper elementary students
Class Schedule
Saturdays 9:00-10:00 am PST
April 5, April 12, (No Class April 19), April 26, May 3, May 10, May 17, May 24, May 31
Note: Classes are listed in PST, click below to convert time to your time zone.
Course Overview
For nearly as long as human beings have lived in communities, we have had the idea of a perfect society, government, nation, world. Thomas More gave it the name “Utopia” in 1516, but Plato wrote about the idea nearly 2,000 years before that in The Republic and Laws. Utopia, and its failed sibling, dystopia, have been a favorite topic in philosophy, religion, books, movies, and government design. And there have been many real-life attempts at creating a Utopia, some of which succeeded for quite a while.
Beginning with reading The Giver before the first session (chosen because it is one of the few fictional treatments that gives the Utopia a relatively balanced view), the first few classes will be a look at and discussion of ideas about the ideal community/state/nation through time, both in writing and in real-life attempts. Towards the middle of the eight weeks we will discuss the concept of Cultural Universals and generate as comprehensive a list as we can of all the factors that a Utopian design must consider, as well as aspects of human nature that must be kept in mind. Then, in the last few classes, the students, first in working groups and then as a whole group, will try to design a Utopian community or nation themselves.
Requirement: read (or listen to the audiobook of) The Giver by Lois Lowry.
**Please note that this class is sequential, so missing any classes will mean that your child will miss the foundation for the next class. We plan to start promptly on time with whoever is there, and those who arrive late will have to do their best to catch up.
Student Experience
Literary Analyst
Inventor
Changemaker
Pattern Seeker
Your Teacher: Matt Berman
- M.A.T. in Philosophy for Children, Montclair State University
- B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education K-8 University of Connecticut
- Gifted Certification, University of New Orleans
- 46 years in education
Recipient of the NEH Teacher-Scholar Award, Matt Berman has been an elementary school teacher for more than 40 years, with certification in gifted education and degrees in education and philosophy for children. A nationally recognized expert in children's literature, Matt has written four books on the subject, and his reviews, articles, and columns have appeared in many journals, including Kirkus, School Library Journal, and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He has also taught children's literature at Tulane University and the University of New Orleans, and his reviews have appeared on numerous websites, including Common Sense Media, Disney Family, Family.com, iVillage, and the Child Lit Wiki. Matt has also been a consultant with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, as well as a freelance writer and editor, website developer, teacher trainer and consultant, photographer, communications director, and founding director of the Nueva Center for the Humanities.
