peter sands

We write with an update about SUS 2020 in Charleston.  The Steering Committee has decided that we will cancel the in-person meeting this year.

We will be holding some virtual events in the fall.  W […]

Course Description:

The Medusa figure, the cyborg, the nomadic subject are complex images in feminist theory.  Some figures represent the ways in which women have been othered over the centuries, and others […]

Course Description/Overview:

While discussions of and writings about utopia have permeated every culture on earth for millennia, both the history and the culture of the United States have been full of efforts […]

Nature/Goals of the Course:

The primary goal of the course is to offer a chronological introduction to various forms of expressing American utopian ideals.   (For a definition of a literary utopia, see below.  […]

Nature of the Course, Goals (outcomes), and Means:

“Build Your Own Utopia” is an interdisciplinary course designed to help students to clarify and evaluate their ideals as they improve reading, writing, and […]

Course Description:

This course focuses on the reading and writing of expressive, expository, and persuasive essays.  Attention is given to effective expression, clear structure, adequate development, […]

Course Description:

Science fiction envisions “what ifs,” and that speculation is what makes it a superb site for consideration of gender alternatives.  In engaging with techno-science, science fiction […]

Course Description:

We examine, to the extent time permits, a trajectory of utopian literature from Plato’s Republic to the present.  We read these texts through the lens of classic philosophic speculations, […]

Course Content:

The course offers an introduction to the genre and history of literary utopias and related forms of utopian thinking.  The
participants are invited to close reading and discussion of some of […]