What is human happiness? Can human beings live together in harmony? What is the perfect society? Is it possible to achieve such a society? This course examines how selected writers and communitarians have answered these questions in theory, fiction, and practice. The course studies the themes of utopianism and anti-utopianism in Western thought from ancient times to the twenty-first century. Readings vary from year to year, but may include Plato's Republic, More's Utopia, Voltaire's Candide, Bellamy's Looking Backward, Gilman's Herland, Zamyatin's We, Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, and documents from actual utopian communities. Affiliate department: Humanities.