Utopia: Critical thinking and Society

Course Description

Could we build the perfect world? Living a good life, building the perfect society - these are the BIG projects that have driven much philosophical debate throughout history. In this class we will try to build a Utopia piece by piece. Each week we will discuss and debate one aspect of building an ideal society - from the individual - the micro - to the social - the macro. In our discussions we will be introduced to various philosophers, who might argue against our views. We will rely on Plato's Republic as a starting point for our conversation. Will we come to agree with Plato? Will we find flaws in his views? Each week we will take on a different topic, and link our discussions to recent events, to literature, and to Thinkers' unique interests. We might, for example, link our discussion to gaming, or to sports, or to art! The topics below are starting points for our discussions, but class content will change to adapt to Thinkers’ interests. 1. What is a perfect society? Exploring utopias past and present. 2. Who should rule? Is democracy a perfect government? 3. Education. What should we learn, who should teach? 4. Citizenship. Is birthright citizenship...right? 5. Is war necessary? * About 250 young people have now gone through Utopia - and many have come back to tell us it was a life-changing journey. This was the class where they started critically thinking about their world, having their views taken seriously, all while having lots of fun! The goal of this class is to build a community of thoughtful, empowered, young people who feel able to change their world. In TMU it is NEVER about telling your people what to think, but about giving young people the tools they need to critically, creatively, and ethically understand their world. ** Several bursaries are available for this course - please send us an email for discounted places. We are keen to help all Thinkers who want to do this course participate!