Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature

By: Pamela Bedore, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Pamela Bedore

Can literature change our real world society? At its foundation, utopian and dystopian fiction asks a few seemingly simple questions aimed at doing just that. Who are we as a society? Who do we want to be? Who are we afraid we might become? When these questions are framed in the speculative versions of Heaven and Hell on earth, you won't find easy answers, but you will find tremendously insightful and often entertaining perspectives.

Utopian and dystopian writing sits at the crossroads of literature and other important academic disciplines such as philosophy, history, psychology, politics, and sociology. It serves as a useful tool to discuss our present condition and future prospects - to imagine a better tomorrow and warn of dangerous possibilities. To examine the future of mankind through detailed and fascinating stories that highlight and exploit our anxieties in adventurous, thought-provoking, and engaging ways. From Thomas More's foundational text Utopia published in 1516 to the 21st-century phenomenon of The Hunger Games, dive into stories that seek to find the best - and the worst - in humanity, with the hope of better understanding ourselves and the world. Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature delivers 24 illuminating lectures, led by Pamela Bedore, Associate Professor of English at the University of Connecticut, which plunge you into the history and development of utopian ideas and their dystopian counterparts. You'll encounter some of the most powerful and influential texts in this genre as you travel centuries into the past and thousands of years into the future, through worlds that are beautiful, laughable, terrifying, and always thought-provoking.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

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Come for the analysis; stay for the reading list!

I've always loved dystopian novels since I first snuck my father's copy of 1984 to read under the covers in middle school. (Mom had been known to participate in religious book burnings, so I couldn't read it openly. As a result, Fahrenheit 451 remains on my shelf to this day, despite my mostly having pared down and switched over to audible and e-books. Somehow, I could never bring myself to own ONLY an e-copy of that one... but I digress.)

Professor Bedore brings a great enthusiasm, and a wonderful analytic mind to this topic, which is clearly near and dear to her heart. She starts with the original "Utopia", and works her way forward in time, showing the development of both utopian and dystopian genres up into the 2010s.

Along the way she looks at all the obvious books (e.g., 1989 and Brave New World) but also finds time to examine a number of books I'd never heard of (i.e, "We" and "The Chrysalids" are now on my list.) In addition to presenting some interesting thoughts (e.g., though it seems paradoxical, both utopia and dystopia are fundamentally about hope, which may explain in part the dramatic popularity of dystopian novels in YA literature since the new millennium), her lectures also serve as an excellent reading (and movie!) list.

Because this is something of a survey course, those wishing truly deep analysis of any particular text might be disappointed. But if you are looking for thoughts on how utopias and dystopias in general (and the distinct but related post/apocalyptic, speculative, and science fictions) examine and comment on history and current events, you'll likely be pleased with this course.

Professor Bedore as the narrator is also excellent, making me wish my long-ago professors had as much passion for their topic, and were able to read notes and present as well as she does! She's an excellent narrator as well as writer of her lectures.

Finally, as is the case with many of the Great Courses, the length of the course makes it a good value for your credit. Well worth both time and money investment, in my opinion.

Nice journey

Any additional comments?

Very good overview. I also got lot of nice suggestions of books to start next. I already purchased 4 titles mentioned in this course.

interesting but . . .

The professor was enthusiastic and I was certainly exposed to several stories of which I was not familiar. There were a few stories that she noted were not distopian, but seemed to just be stories she enjoyed, while some stories in the distopian cannon were not included.

Found some new books to read

I first heard about this particular Great Courses lecture from a podcast that I listen to. I’m so glad I gave this one a listen as it was highly engaging and fun to listen to a more in-depth look into some of my favorite utopian and dystopian books, plus I learned about some new books that I’ve added to my to read list. I would definitely recommend this for lovers of the genre as well as sci-fi and fantasy books.

Wow! What Material! What a Lecturer!

Where does Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 5

What was one of the most memorable moments of Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature?

So many it's hard to choose. I particularly enjoyed the treatment of HG Wells.

Have you listened to any of Professor Pamela Bedore’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First one. If more are coming, sign me up.

Who was the most memorable character of Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature and why?

Gilman, Wells, Dick, LeGuin, Burgess. Did you say only one? :)

Any additional comments?

Such a gifted scholar and lecturer. This course is a garden of rare delights from beginning to end. Thank you, Dr. Bedore.

Great topic well presented

Dystopian fiction is my favorite genre, and this lecture series introduced me to many new and old titles that I went on to explore. It also gave me an appreciation for utopian fiction, helping me see that the two genres are not far apart. Best takeaways: Amatka by Karin Tidbeck and We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, two extraordinary books I never would have found without this lecture series. #informative #eyeopening #literaturesurvey

phenomenal

I loved this. Honestly, I wished I wasn't listening in my car because I wanted to write down and read every book she mentioned!! ( I have read over half of them but I started to re read them!)

just what I was looking for

I loved the professor and I added quite a few books to my reading list.

Very insightful and interesting course, highly recommend !

I enjoyed every lecture in this course. The lecturer was absolutely amazing, clear, precise in her points and explanations, and her delivery was exciting and interesting. I can’t recommend this course enough. The works that are discussed are carefully chosen and discussed. Hope this professor will do another course in the future.

Awesome Lectures

As a fan of "The Great Courses" this course is both interesting and well presented. While the lectures are informative and detailed, they refrain from giving away the ending . . . or much of the book! Still, they present enough information to allow the reader to understand the significance of the literature presented.

The lectures are well planned, organized, and full of surprises.

Highly recommend.