Colleen O'Rourke- Blog Post 8

1. How is the concept that humans are corrupt relate to dystopias and post-apocalyptic worlds?

2. Zaki, Hoda M.. “Utopia, Dystopia, and Ideology in the Science Fiction of Octavia Butler (utopie, Dystopie Et Idéologie Dans La Science-fiction D'octavia Butler)”. Science Fiction Studies 17.2 (1990): 239–251. Web...

3. In this article, Hoda Zaki touches on feminism, human nature, utopias and extra-terrestrials in different works of literature. She focuses on the work of Octavia Butler, a SF writer. Zaki discusses feminism in that there are stereotypes saying "there was no 'women's genre in science fiction.'" This turns out to be not so true through Butler's great work. She states in her work a lot of information about human nature in the eyes of aliens, saying that they are fundamentally flawed with violence, sex, intelligence and static. These aliens believe that human politics in incorrect and they need to take over or change our world, creating more of a utopia. 

4. This article speaks to the issue of my inquiry question very well. It goes in depth on the corruption of humans and the impact aliens would have in a world if they were to be non-fiction.

Alexis McDonald - BP 8

1. How are time and wealth represented in the 20^th century dystopian genre?
2. Shi-Ling Hsu. "The Rise and Rise of the One Percent: Getting to Thomas Piketty's Wealth Dystopia." SelectedWorks. 2014. 18 Nov. 2015.
3. This article discusses Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-first Century. This book debates how wealth factors into modern American economics. It delves into how wealth creates inequality in the United States. Piketty argument is that private capital exceeds the rate of economic growth, and describes this in the equation r > g. This means that those that are owners of capital grow wealth faster than the economy grows. This leaves the non-wealthy behind.
4. This relates to my issue because it describes how there is inequality created by wealth in modern America. Wealth changes how people act and what drives their behaviors.

Hannah Rayner - Blog Post 8

By this time, you have written Short Paper 5 and formulated an Inquiry Question, and learned how to use the library databases to find a peer-reviewed article from an academic journal. Follow the steps, numbered.

1. First, write down your inquiry question.

How does the presence of a possible utopia function in popular dystopian fiction?

2.  Locate a peer reviewed article from an academic journal, using your SP5 Inquiry Question as a guide, and copy the citation here.

Webb, Darren. “Christian Hope and the Politics of Utopia”. Utopian Studies 19.1 (2008): 113–144. Web. 18 November 2015. 

3. Write a summary of the article below, 4-6 sentences long. Similar to your guidelines for Short Paper 1, the summary must (1) restate in your own words the content of the article, focusing on the central claim and the main points that support it. (2) The language of your summary should be independent of the original and contain few, if any, quotations. (3) The summary must be accurate and complete, communicating your understanding of the essay as a whole and its purpose. It should be understandable to a reader who is not already familiar with the article.

Darren Webb’s article “Christian Hope and the Politics of Utopia”, discusses the connection between utopia and hope.  He explains that the initial relationship between utopia and hope was born in the first utopian novel or Thomas More’s Utopia. Webb draws this conclusion by analyzing different philosophers’ ideas on hope including claims from Marcel, Moltmann, and Gutierrez.  More also uses the ideas from these scholars to explain what a Christian should hope for, such as the sympathy of God. Overall, Webb wrote this article in order to demonstrate the development and presence of hope in utopian novels. 

In one or two sentences, explain how this speaks to the issue your Inquiry Question explores.

This speaks to the issue in my Inquiry Question because it describes the function of utopias.  It describes how utopias are able to create hope.  

Hailey Rial Blog Post 8

1. Inquiry Question: How is the topic of women’s sexuality explored through dystopian works?

2.  Locate a peer reviewed article from an academic journal, using your SP5 Inquiry Question as a guide, and copy the citation here.

Lyman Tower Sargent. and Lucy Sargisson. "Sex in Utopia: Eutopian and Dystopian Sexual Relations." Utopian Studies 25.2 (2014): 3015-317.Project MUSE. Web. 18 Nov. 2015. <https://muse.jhu.edu/>.

3. Write a summary of the article below:

Sex in Utopia: Eutopian and Dystopian Sexual Relations explores the feminist dystopian novel in the context of how sex is portrayed in utopian and dystopian works. Sex is prevalent in dystopian novels in various forms, from regulated sex in works like Auspicious Eggs to the pressure to have sex in works like Brave New World. What is interested about sex in dystopian works is how they relay a message of feminism to the world. These works have shifted from a way of making women sex objects in the sense that they are solely having sex for reproductive purposes, like in Daughter's of an Amber Noon, to having sex because they enjoy it, like in 1984. This shift from reproduction to fulfillment shows a new era of feminist science fiction- one in which women's sexualities are expressed based upon their wants and desires rather than on their biological. purposes

4. Explain how this speaks to the issue your Inquiry Question explores: This speaks to the issue that my Inquiry Question explores because it discusses the shift in feminist science fiction, mainly dystopia, as it pertains to the way that women are portrayed sexually. 

Blake Kotel - Blog 8

1. Inquiry Question: How do modern dystopian works present the importance of living an authentic life?

2. Burnett, G. Wesley and Rollin, Lucy. “Anti-leisure in Dystopian Fiction: The

Literature of Leisure in the Worst of all Possible Worlds.” Leisure Studies

19. 2 (2000): 77-90. Print

3. The article begins by discussing the classic utopia and how it evolved into 

dystopian literature that we know today. This then article discusses how dystopian 

literature discusses social trends and then offers social criticism on the topic. The 

article focuses on the comments that dystopia presents on leisure. This article

points out how the authors of dystopian literature are trying to prove the 

importance of supporting humanity and the individual for a more independent 

and happy life style. 

4. This speaks to my inquiry question because it talks about how restricted 

people's lives are in dystopias and how these dystopian societies are not healthy 

places to live.

Brianna Parker - Blog Post 8

1. Inquiry Question: How does dystopia in popular culture reflect the idea of freedom and restriction within social systems of today’s society?

2.  Dima-Laza, Stancuta R. “Utopia versus Dystopia – a Perfect Environment for a Perfect

            Existence.” 2012 International Conference on Humanity, History and Society IPEDR 34.

(2012) 12-16. Web.

3. This article begins by discussing the characteristics of a utopia versus those of a dystopia. The author suggests that these two types of worlds can be looked at differently by certain people despite the major contrast between what they represent. It is also mentioned that the freedom that people have is influenced by the environment around them. This article states that utopia is something that the world should try to work toward with the use of higher intelligence.

4. The issue in my inquiry question deals with the amount of freedom found in dystopian societies and this article discusses influences on freedom in society.

Reilly Crabbs - Blog Post 8

1. To what degree does this novel argue how beauty is recognized and categorized in modern society?
2. Townsend, Claudia, and Sanjay Sood. “Self-affirmation Through the Choice of Highly Aesthetic Products”. Journal of Consumer Research 39.2 (2012): 415–428. Web…
3. The article “Self-affirmation Through the Choice of Highly Aesthetic Products” by Claudia Townsend goes into detail on the relation between aesthetic and people's preferences The author tells the reader how people view themselves relate to what they buy or think is appealing. For example, consumers look for positive reinforcement and that will affect their choices in aesthetics. Townsend directly states  that “ product choice can directly influence the self”. The buyer will chose things that boost their ego and sense of self.
4. This article speaks to my inquiry question because it states that “ product choice can directly influence the self”. The Uglies all want to be Pretty (product choice) because they feel better about themselves. Once Pretty their aesthetically superior and everything seems better and easier.

Mary Sluder - Blog Post 8

1. How are African Americans represented in dystopian works?

2. Parrinder, Patrick. "Entering Dystopia, Entering Erewhon." Critical Survey17.1 (2005): 6-21. JSTOR. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.

3. Parrinder compares and contrasts different aspects of utopias and dystopias. Parrinder derives these aspects from various sources and builds upon them in his own analysis. Parrinder discusses how authors write dystopian works like sort of a puzzle for the reader to solve. Parrinder also suggests that as one travels through a dystopia, they are experiencing a faster version of their current society's history.

4. I will use his portable concept about experiencing a faster version of their current society's history to talk about the African American's struggle to overcome white oppression throughout history.

BP8 by sydney swigart

Inquiry question:  "How does the theme of being trapped relate to the idea of a dystopian society"

Raffles, Hugh. "Uncommon Sense." Nightmares (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.

My article is about someone who has nightmares.  Nightmares about being trapped and not being able to communicate properly and being alone of invaded or just never being able to get out.  He feels like he might be trapped in this body and there will no way back.  The idea of fear, mostly terror is expressed here as well as the idea of new fears and problems relating to being trapped and there being no way out.

This article relates to The Maze Runner because they both relate to the idea of entrapment and the fear of not being able to get out and being stuck somewhere forever.  This exact idea is seen in the movie.  Both are very dystopian.