Utopia: Dreams and Realities with Mark S. Jendrysik

About this class:

This is a 7-meeting virtual class using the Zoom platform.

Wednesdays March 13, 20, 27, April 3, 10, 17, 24 - 7-8:30 pm Central time.

Seekers after utopia ask many questions. What would the perfect society look like? How should relations among men and women, rich and poor, citizen and alien be organized for the benefit of all? What kind of political system would guarantee peace, prosperity and plenty for all people? In what kind of society would the individual find fulfillment? How can we harness technology for the good of all humanity? In this course we will examine and judge the answers provided across the two-thousand (and more) year history of utopian political thought.

Recommended text for the course: Utopia (Key Concepts in Political Theory) 1st Edition by Mark Jendrysik.

https://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Key-Concepts-Political-Theory/dp/1509534938/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  ($19.95 paperback, $16 Kindle)

Instructor bio:

Mark S. Jendrysik, PhD is a Professor of Political Science at the University of North Dakota. He has published three books and numerous papers on American political thought and culture and on the history of political thought. Like Mark Twain he believes that "public education is democracy."

Humanities North Dakota classes and events are funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

HND VALUE STATEMENT

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or Humanities North Dakota. However, in an increasingly polarized world, we at Humanities North Dakota believe that being open-minded is necessary to thinking critically and rationally. Therefore our programs and classes reflect our own open-mindedness in the inquiry, seeking, and acquiring of scholars to speak at our events and teach classes for our Public University. To that end, we encourage our participants to join us in stepping outside our comfort zones and considering other perspectives and ideas by being open-minded while attending HND events featuring scholars who hold a variety of opinions, some being opposite of our own held beliefs.