Creating Your Perfect Utopia

Introduction

The people in your group have inherited multibillions of dollars. Your groups has decided to use this money to create (build) an island in which you will develop the perfect society. You will be studying about other societies to help you create your perfect society on this island.

Task

As a group, you will name your island, draw a map, show the culture, determine the economics, and develop the government for your island. Then you will give a group presentation to the class about your island.

Process

Part 1: Map Your Island

The assignment today is to create and plan an island! Your group will need at least one large piece of white paper, art supplies, and plenty of writing paper and pens. Your group will start by collaboratively mapping out your imaginary island. This is an activity in which creativity can be used for best advantage. Remember, it is okay if you come up with something that might not be entirely realistic, as long as the group remains consistent and works together.

Start by together answering these questions:

What is the name of your island?
What shape is the island? How big is it?
Are there lots of sandy beaches? Forests or jungles? Villages, towns, or developed cities? What parts of the island (if any) are developed, and what parts (if any) are left untouched?
What types of plants and animals exist on the island?
What is the weather like? How does it change with the seasons?

Your group will draw a map of the island in full color. Then, you will writes an essays describing the physical properties of the island and answering the questions above. Each member of the group will write a portion of the essay as a homework assignment. For example, one group member can write about the landscape, another the plants and animals, and another the island's weather patterns.

The group should have decided how many people live on the island and which parts they inhabit. As a group, you should have already made some decisions about how rural or developed your civilization is. Now is the time to build upon this.

You will also be making a salt dough topographic map of your island. You should research how to create a salt dough topographic map to insure accuracy in this project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95CccPVpQjYCultural Aspects of the Project

Declaration of Independence

Write an explanation describing the reason why you formed your utopian society. In this statement you must answer the following questions – 1.) What don’t you like about your current society? 2.) How has the current society broken your trust? 3.) Why do you feel the need to form a more perfect society? 4.) How will your society be different? 5.) Does your society have some of the same characteristics as your current society? Yes or No – If yes, then tell which ideas are the same.

Culture/Religion/Mythology/Folklore:

Does the island society have a religion, mythology or folklore? Write an essay defining their pre-science belief system. Write at least two short folktales from this island. Extra credit: Write more than two folktales of the island people.

Make sure all of your ideas are tied into one consistent set of beliefs.

Holidays and Celebrations:

Create 5 or more unique holidays and celebrations that your society will have throughout the year. For each make sure you include a date and a reason why you chose these dates.

Sports:

What types of sports/games do they have? (ie, football, golf?) What instruments (balls, flags, sticks) do they use in their sports? Write an essay describing the games/sports on the island. Create your own game/sport. Extra credit: Create a game/sport played on your island.

Music:

How do the island people make music? Do they have musical instruments, do they sing? What are the instruments made of? Write an essay describing the island's native musical instruments. Create representations (drawings) of island musical instruments. Extra credit: compose a piece of original island music.

Dance:

Extra credit: create an original island dance to go with the original island music.

Religion:

What religion does your island practice? Extra credit: create your own originial religion and tell some of the practices of that religion.

Economical Aspects of the Society

The group should have already discussed to some extent the level of development on the island. Now it is time to build upon these ideas and think about how you are going to survive.

Agriculture/Industry

Is this an agricultural society? What do they grow? What animals do they keep? What do they use the animals for? For example:
Do they use animals for labor? Do they eat animals, or animal products (such as milk)?
Is there any industry on the island? Do the island people have access to technology; have they developed their own technology? If yes, what kinds of technology do they have?
Are there large businesses on the island, or factories? If yes, what do they produce? Or if not, is everything on a smaller scale?
Is this island society independent, or do they trade goods and services with the rest of the world?
Decide upon how they create and distribute goods and services among themselves.

Write a series of essays:

1) Write an essay describing food production and any agricultural practices on the island.
2) Write an essay describing the technology that they use, and what it is for. Be sure to include whether the island society interacts with the rest of the world, or remains its own independent block.
3) How do they create clothing? What is their clothing made of? Write an essay describing the materials used and the methods of production. Provide illustrations of island clothing.
4) Write a fourth essay, or include in the previous ones how food and services are distributed. Do the island people barter or use a system of money?

https://www.udemy.com/blog/types-of-economic-systems/Government

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWsn6BDkCHM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4gsnFJRAB0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMTR-XTdExI

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/business/global/fair-trade-movement-extends-to-clothing.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

CONSTITUTION

In this portion you will work on drawing up a constitution for the island. The constitution will define the role of government on the island, any system of law and order that is in place.

Questions for your group to answer together:

What kind of government exists on the island? For example: Is it a true democracy, such as Ancient Greece? Is it similar to the 50 States, in which elected officials represent large blocks of people? Is there a monarchy; are people born into political power? Is the society anarchistic?

What role does the government play in the island peoples' lives? For example: Does the government own and dole out wealth, or does the government tax the people for certain purposes? What does the government do to benefit the people?

What rights, if any, do the island people have?

LAW AND ORDER

Every society has some system of law and order.

What rules govern your island society, and who enforces them? How are these laws enforced?

http://depts.alverno.edu/dgp/GEC/Types%20of%20Government.htmlThe Presentationhttp://stutzfamily.com/mrstutz/WorldAffairs/typesofgovt.htmlhttp://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/studentaffairs/pdf/sa/resources/constitutions/sample1.pdfThe Constitution

Working together, students draw up a written constitution for their island. The above questions will be answered in the constitution.

Invitation to Friends

Write a persuasive letter to a friend or relative on why your utopia is the best one in which to live. Include a counterargument statement.

Part 2: Individual Reflective Assignments
Now that you have created your utopia, reflect on the ideas of utopias in general. Answer the following questions in brief paragraphs. Each student must turn in the following individually to receive full credit.

Respond to the following idea: “We want to live in a small community with which we can identify and yet we want all the facilities of the city of millions of people. We want to have very intense urban experiences and yet we want the open space right next to us (Moshe Safdie).” What challenges does this present?
The lyrics to John Lennon’s “Imagine” describe a utopia. In a paragraph, discuss the meaning of the lyrics. Do you agree with his sentiments? Is the world that the speaker imagines possible? What prevents peace from happening? What can be done to try to make it happen? Write a stanza of your own for the song that begins with the phrase "Imagine...".

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

Part 3: Group Presentation Assignment
Your group will take the information you created in the collaborative assignment and construct a PowerPoint presentation for the class. Each groups’ PPT presentation should be at least 15-20 minutes and should include a slide for each of the following categories. In addition to the rubric below, each member of the group must present – no exceptions. (Listening, viewing, and speaking are part of the standards).

Design Your Own Utopia PowerPoint

I. Name & Scope
1. What is the name?
2. What type of society is it (hunters and gathers, horiticultural, pastoral, argarian, industrial, biotech, etc.)?
II. Goals & Values
1. What will be the goals and values of your society?
2. Will individuals choose their own goals and values, or will their goals and values be those of your society?
III. Power & Politics
1. What form of social and political organization will your society have?
2. Will it be based on political authority, with some giving orders and others obeying them in a vertical, hierarchical structure, as at present, or will it be based on voluntary cooperation in a horizontal, non-coercive structure?
3. What will your decision-making process(es) be?
4. Will you have a constitution, other written agreement(s), or verbal agreements?
5. How will officials or coordinators be selected?
IV. Economics, Work, & Leisure
1. How will production and distribution be organized in your society?
2. How will work be compensated?
3. How will people determine what jobs they do?
4. Who will do economic planning?
5. Will your utopia be based on private property? Common ownership? Or a combination of the two?
6. How many hours per day will your citizens work?
7. Will the standard of living in your society be poverty level (voluntary simplicity), middle class, or high on the hog?
8. Will you set aside time for play and creative pursuits?
V. Religion
1. Will there be a division between religion and other social and political institutions in your society?
2. Will your society have a single religion? No religion? Many religions?
3. Will your society have rituals and celebrations?
VI. The Arts
1. What will be the role of the arts in your society?
2. Will your utopia encourage participation in the arts?
3. Will professional artists (musicians, dancers, et al.) pursue their creative efforts full time, with the rest of the community supporting them?
4. Will there be any censorship of art in your utopia?

VII. The Physical
1. What will be the architecture of your society? What materials and techniques will be used in building construction?
2. What will be the underlying philosophical or ecological reasons for the use of these materials and techniques?
3. Will your soceity have high population density or low population density?
4. What kind(s) of transportation will it use? Will any kinds of transportation be encouraged or discouraged?
5. How will your society deal with sewage and other waste products?
6. Will your society have private, self-contained dwellings (as at present—detached houses and self-contained apartments)? OR Will it have private, but non-self-contained individual living spaces (without kitchens and laundry facilities, and perhaps without private bathrooms or living rooms)?
7. Will your scoeity have private or communal dining facilities, or a combination of the two?

VIII. Food
1. Will your scoeity be vegetarian, omnivorous, or will food choice be an individual matter?
2. Will agriculture be the province of factory farms, as at present, or will agricultural production be carried on by smaller units?
IX. Animals
1. Will animals be raised and slaughtered for food?
2. Will animals be kept as pets?

Evaluation

Part 1: Collaborative Utopia Project Rubric

Category	Possible Points	Points Earned & Comments
Utopian Name: Creative name of a new society with a meaningful explanation of choice.	5
Declaration of Independence: your vision is expressed articulately; the values, goals, and ideals of your society are clear (5). Reasons for forming your society are clearly enumerated (5).	10
Culture: you have art, music, physica activity, etc. that your inhabitants share as a culture. The culture matches your society.	10
Constitution: your constitution state the provisions your inhabitants must follow with a thoughtful rationale for each. (1 pt for each rule, and 1 pt for each rational)	20
Governing Body: you provide a thoughtful and complete explanation of your governmental structure, economy, and leadership process.	10
Holidays and Celebrations: Points will be given for creativity of the holidays, and their correlation to the values in your Utopia. Make sure to include dates.	10
Invitation to Friends – Your letter follows the persuasive writing requirements and you included a counterargument.	10
Maps of the Island-maps are creative and have details that describe the island. Resources, houses, landscape, key, and other unique features are included.	10
Economics-economics of the island match the society chosen by the group. The economics does not conflic with the type of society.	10
Journal Writing – Each member supplies a journal that is half a page, margin to margin, and concerns a different day.	10
TOTAL PROJECT GRADE	100

Part 2: Individual Utopia Project Rubric

Category	Criteria	Possible Points	Pointes Earned & Comments
Knowledge/ Understanding	Understands information, ideas, concepts or themes Knowledge of paragraph structure	10
Thinking/ Inquiry	Explains, interprets, analyses ideas and information Includes detailed supporting evidence Argues and/or persuades	10
Communication	Logic of argument is consistent and sophisticated Topic sentence is clear and states the purpose of the paragraph Conclusion summarizes and extends main idea Diction, tone, and level of language are skilfully adapted to suit the purpose and audience Uses language conventions – grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation	10
Application	Applies ideas of utopian society to song lyrics Required length – 4-5 sentences (within assigned lines)	10

Part 3: Group Presentation Assignment

Each section is worth 10 points for thoroughness. In addition, the group will earn another 10 points for being prepared, speaking clearly, and overall presentation of material. Presentation is worth 100 points.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have created the perfect society. I hope that you learned that societies are a process and evolve over time to hopefully become better.