About the Course

Utopias and Dystopias

From Plato’s Republic to Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We, utopian and dystopian literature often examines the fine line between a perfect and an oppressive society. This course explores how utopian and dystopian works confront some of the most pressing sociopolitical concerns of the times. This course will develop your skills as a scholar and writer as you identify, discuss, and write about societies with vast economic, political, gender, religious, and technological ideologies. For example, after reading Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s V for Vendetta or Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven, you may write an essay about how dystopian protagonists create change in oppressive societies. You might compare gender roles in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland and Octavia Butler’s The Parable of the Sower. You’ll write critical essays and create your own utopian or dystopian fiction, and sharpen your prose and ideas while working with your classmates and instructor to workshop and revise your works.

Typical Class Size: 16

Course Overview

This course is

ungraded.

Summer Dates & Locations

Registration deadline:

After May 9, 2025, registration is available upon request pending eligibility and seat availability. To request placement, email [email protected] after submitting a program application.

Session One

Image of the Ursinus College campus
Ursinus College
Collegeville, Pennsylvania
-
Residential cost: $7,259
Commuter cost: $6,459
Enroll

Session Two

Image of the Ursinus College campus
Ursinus College
Collegeville, Pennsylvania
-
Residential cost: $7,259
Commuter cost: $6,459
Enroll

Testing and Prerequisites

  Math Verbal
Required Level Not required CTY-Level
Check your eligibility using existing test scores If you do not have existing test scores:

Students must achieve qualifying scores on an advanced assessment to be eligible for CTY programs. If you don’t have qualifying scores, you have several different testing options. We’ll help you find the right option for your situation.

Sign up for Testing Learn More

Course Prerequisites

Utopias and Dystopias requires:

1 prerequisite

Any CTY Intensive Studies writing or humanities course, our Online Programs course Crafting the Essay, or at least a "B" in ninth-grade English.

Cost and Financial Aid

  • Tuition
    • Varies
  • Application fee
    • Nonrefundable Application Fee - $55 (Waived for financial aid applicants)
    • Nonrefundable International Fee - $250 (outside US only)

Financial Aid is available
We are committed to serving all talented youth regardless of financial circumstances. Financial assistance is available based on need.

Learn More

Course Materials

Students should bring basic school supplies like pens, notebooks, and folders to their summer program. You will be notified of any additional items needed before the course begins. All other materials will be provided by CTY.
 

Sample Reading

These titles have been featured in past sessions of the course, and may be included this summer. CTY provides students with all texts; no purchase is required.

  • The Republic, Plato
  • The Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler
  • Materials compiled by instructor

Technical Requirements

Students must bring a tablet with a keyboard, laptop computer, or Chromebook for use during the session. A smartphone will not be sufficient.

About Language Arts at CTY

Explore storytelling

Want to have fun reading popular stories and writing your own tales of adventure? Pen your hero's journey and explore a diverse range of books in Behind the Mask: Superheroes Revealed, or have fun shaping your prose and experimenting with different formats and styles in Fiction and Poetry.

Find your voice

Take your writing to the next level! In Writing and Imagination, you can build your vocabulary and gain the tools to write your own creative fiction. You'll learn to craft compelling narratives about your own experiences in Crafting the Essay, and have fun learning new literary devices and figurative language in Writing Your World.

Meet our instructors and staff