Ancient Utopias & SciFi
AMS-381B-01
Binghamton University
- Semester
- Summer 2026
- Instructor
- Stephen Blair
- Start Date
- 05-26-2026
- Total Credits
- 4
- Call to Register
- 607-777-6088
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You will learn the same curriculum as our on-campus students
Political discourse has co-opted the word "utopian" as a term of reproach, often suggesting
naive idealism and a misunderstanding of the practical realities of the world. But the fantastic settings of utopian texts derive their power from the description of people and places who, like refractions in a funhouse mirror, reflect the perspective of the author's own world in exaggerated or distorted form. This course traces the development of a utopian genre of speculative ethnography from its roots in ancient Mediterranean travel-writing down to its transformation into the modern genre of science fiction. Students will encounter ancient and modern accounts of aliens on the moon, visions of an idealized Medina in Islamic political philosophy, entanglements of utopian literature with European colonial exploitation of the Global South, and the repurposing of utopia as a discourse of liberation in feminist, postcolonial and Afrofuturist literature and film.
Course Area: Humanities
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Dates: 05-26-2026 - 06-29-2026
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- Instructor: Stephen Blair
- Local Course ID: 26SU_BIN_AMS381B_01
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