Utopia – a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions

Changing Society

From Dystopia to Utopia

In Social Studies, we have been looking at four general types of government structures and their pros and cons. In addition, we have been reading dystopia novels and looking at how they are intended to critique something in our world. We are now going to combine the two.

Your task is to review the structure of your novel’s government, and, knowing what you know now, create a better one in its place. Your task will consist of 4 parts that must be presented on a poster, poster board, powerpoint / keynote presentation or any other media (at teacher discretion).

 

Part A – Demographics (25 points)                 

Origin – Answer these in sentences, paragraphs and/or summaries.

• What is your utopia’s name? (3)
• How will this Utopia come into being? Write a 7-9 sentence statement of INTENT: (8)
  • Explain why you formed it
  • Explain why people should join it
  • Explain why it’s different than the previous government
  • Explain why it’s a better option (why do we need it?, in other words)
• Your utopia should include a motto and a seal – which represent your particular utopia. You will need to explain what the colors and symbols stand for on your seal. (5)
• What events led up to the creation of your utopia? (9)
  • Create a timeline/flowchart with 2-3 events that led to the creation of your society. This will be a few pictures with captions.
    • Was it a terrible tragedy, war, sickness, political upheaval, natural disaster, etc.? Be sure to use events from your text.

Part B – Government (25 points)

• Describe and, if possible, name the informing political philosophy of this Utopia. This means what kind of government you will have – dictatorship, democracy, monarchy, or oligarchy.
• Create a system of laws and rights. Come up with 5 rights of your citizens. Then, come up with 5 universal laws that everyone in your society knows.
  • Write a scenario where someone breaks one of your laws. What then would the punishment be for breaking it?
• How does this government support or suppress the expression of individual ideas? This is known as censorship.
• Create a flowchart of your government like the chart below:

 

Part C – Family, Social Norms, Culture (25 points)

• Education of citizens is an important aspect in most civilizations. How will this Utopia educate its citizens? What age groups will attend school? Who decides?
• Explain how jobs/careers are chosen in your society. Who chooses these jobs? How long do people     hold these jobs? Is there choice if you want to change your job? How does this compare to the previous regime?
  • In your perfect world, how would your ideal family look? Include a picture of this “ideal” family.
    • Who decides who marries whom?
    • Who has children?
    • How many children are allowed in each family?
  • Who would care for children? Who would care for the elderly? Where?
  • Think of at least one original family ritual/holiday which all families in your community will observe.
  • What value(s) are passed down from generation to generation? What does your community value the most?

Part D – Infrastructure (25 points)

• Create a visual map/drawing of your community. ON YOUR MAP, you need to choose what you feel is appropriate for your community. Consider what your community already has. This should be based upon both how your society is described in your book as well as your creativity. Take the setting that is described and fix it. What does that new setting look like?

Things you may want to consider including in your community:

•  Police/firemen
•  Medical care
•  Transportation
•  Communication
•  Library
•  Fields/farming/gardens
•  Parks/green space
•  Shopping (food, clothing, etc.)
•  Sports arenas
•  Entertainment (movie theatre)
•  Schools/universities
•  Housing (houses, apartments, high-rises)
•  Recreation center (zoo, YMCA, golf)
•  Arts/cultural center (theatre, etc)
• Funding – How will your society thrive? Create your utopia’s currency. Who’s on it? What is its value? What color is it? Etc. OR is your society built around bartering for goods?

Exemplars: