HIST 155 CM - Utopianism and Political Imagination in East Asia

Utopianism has been celebrated as stimulating imagination and criticized as a mystifying force. Despite its critics, utopianism in East Asia has played a valuable role in organizing movements for political liberation and economic equality, criticizing ideological structures and helping people to negotiate the present in order to create a new future. Examining utopian ideas and movements in East Asia after 1800, this class critically studies various themes in utopian studies, including Utopian Thinkers, such as Thomas More, the Taiping Rebellion in China, 1930s Japanese Utopian Literature, Utopian Agrarianism in Korea, Maoism and Utopianism, and Anime and Fantasy in East Asia.

Offered: Every other year

Credit: 1

Course Number: HIST155 CM