A dream shared: community and politics in selected 19th and 20th century American utopias

Abstract

Tato diplomova prace se zabYva rozborem ctyr vybranych americkJch literarnich utopif: Looking Backward: 2000-1887 (Pohled z roku 2000 na rok 1887) Edwarda Bellamyho, The Iron Heel (ielezna pata) Jacka Londona, Ecotopia (Ekotopie) Ernesta Callenbacha a Woman on the Edge of Time (Zena na hrane casu) Marge Piercy. Prace analyzuje socialnf rysy ctyr utopickJch spolecnostf popsanych v techto pracfch, navrhovany proces spolecenskJch a historickJch zmen, vedoucfch k jejich vybudovanf, stejne tak jako socioekonomicke podmfnky a posun spolecenskJch temat vamericke spolecnosti mezi devatenacrym a dvacarym stoletfm na pozadi techto diH. V uvodu teto diplomove práce dochazime k zaverQ, ze pres zrejme jedinecne postaveni zapadnich utopif je vira v Iepsf budoucnost a touha, aby zitrek prekonaI dnesni potize, konstantou lidske existence. Tendence takto snit 0 svetlejsich zitrcfch, le psi spolecnosti a dokonalem svete existuje od pradavna a projevovala se davno pred tim, nez Sir Thomas More sIavne definovaI zanr utopie v roce 1516. Utopicke idealy zasahuji do behu historie a literatury, objevuji se v recke a Hmske literature a mytologii, casta splYvaji s ideou nabozenskeho raje, promitaji se do viry v nekonecny vy-voj lidstva, do zanru scifi, a konecne vytvarf svuj vlastni zanr utopicke literatury v podobe moderni zapadni...

The tendency to dream of a better tomorrow, a better society and a better world had existed long before utopian writing was defined by Sir. Thomas More in 1516. Utopian ideas are present all throughout history, from Greek and Roman literature, myths and mythology, various festivals or the "Cokaygne" utopias to religious paradise, the belief in infinite progress, utopian science fiction and finally the modern western utopia. This thesis will focus on four selected American literary utopias: Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward: 2000-1887, Jack London's Iron Heel, Ernest Callenbach's Ecotopia and Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time. It seeks to analyze the social notions inherent in the four ideal utopian societies portrayed in these novels, the suggested process of social and historical change leading up to them and to note the development of selected social issues in the nineteenth and the twentieth century through the discussion of these works. The introduction will begin with a brief discussion of the background of utopian writing, include arguments for perceiving the institution of an artist as a cultural force, as well as include the historical and cultural background necessary for the discussion of the novels. Chapters two to five will deal with the proposed literature in a more concrete manner,...