Creating a Utopia English 120 Final

English 120 Final: Creating a Utopia Understandably, a perfect society is daunting but remember, our forefathers left their homeland to create such a place as best they could in America. Hence, we have a type of society, based on that forethought. Imagine you are like the daring individuals who left their homeland in 1622 to escape a government and conditions that they did not agree with. It was a very dangerous feat; one full of peril, rejection, banishment, loneliness and even death. The pilgrims came to America to practice their religion and live in a communal peace not directed by the British government. Later, a group of individuals wanting to declare their independence from a country they believed to be tyrannical, created a new country—a type of utopia. I n the 1700’s these educated individuals declared independence through a document, Declaration of Independence, and created their own Brave New World through Articles of Confederation, a Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States.

Structure of the Project There will be two groups. Group A Females. Group B Males. Your assigned group will be responsible for discussing and describing a new society, one free of faults. Your group will create and videotape a presentation explaining the utopia you have created. As well, the group will turn in a report on all the elements of the utopia.

Utopian Structure Name of your utopia and why it was chosen. Rationale for the need to create this utopia. For example, war, extinction, invasion, exploration. Symbols—animal or other that represents the utopia Preamble: statement for what the utopia stands for Description of the place correlating to the idea of a perfect place Motto: guiding quote or saying for the utopia Flag: art representing the abstract ideals of the utopia Daily life—what does a typical day look like for the people in the society? Religion—is it monistic, polytheistic, or other. Educational system—is it elitist? Public education? Socialist? How does it operate? Economy: Capitalism? Barter system? Communism? Other? Rituals and traditions—Holidays? Rites of Passage celebration? Religious observances? Military forces—who maintains the peach and enforces those who seek to disrupt the peace through force. Law and order/enforcement/punishment Transportation—how do people get from place to place? Entertainment—ways of recreation Form of government: Is it democratic? Monarchism? Totalitarianism? Marital arrangements/family structure/birth/birth rate. Conclusion—why this type of society will benefit the evolution of humanity as a species. Work Cited/Cover page

Group Collaboration Collaboration is essential in this project. It must be evident to me that each person in the group has/is doing their fair share. All members must speak equally in the presentation and all members should collaborate equally on the report. All work must have the student’s name attached. Do not divide the subjects up per group members; collaborate and come to an agreement on your group utopia. Any research must be cited with both an in-text citation and a Works Cited.

Presenting the Group’s Utopia Each group is responsible for the following at the time of presentation A written report (not an essay—see included example as a guideline) that includes the elements listed above A YouTube presentation that includes visuals on any aspect of the group’s utopia. Questions from each group member to the others on the Weebly website attempting to disqualify the other’s utopia through rational thinking.

Beware The utopia MAY NOT mirror or be like any movie, book, or television series. Creative original thinking is the key.

Point Value for the Grade Presentation will be worth 200 points for each group member individually and 100 points as a group The collaborative report will be worth 100 points. (Content and mechanics as usual) The Q and A discussion blog will be worth 100 points per student; as well, a personal reflection on the effort and participation of the other group members, the significance of the project, the flaws and important contributions. Therefore, the entire final Is worth 500 points.

The Report There are 20 elements for each utopia; therefore, each participant will be responsible for 5 elements described in the report. Each element will be discussed and agreed upon within each group. No one person is responsible for an element. In other words, you cannot assign someone the responsibility of coming up with the flag or the name. It needs to be a group effort based on discussion and mutual agreement.

Example of Report

Presentation Guidelines Introduce your utopia Each person must present an equal share of the presentation You may have a PowerPoint as your guide, but do not read directly from the PowerPoint. Use the Power Point as your guide much as you would index card for a speech. The PowerPoint may include the visuals you wish to express (flag, map, etc.) but only use at a reference. Do not use as the visual in lieu of your stance and presentation Make sure you utopia has a conclusion.

Rubric for Presentation file:///Users/mrscotner/Desktop/A English Second Semester Guide/Utopia/Presentation Rubric.doc

Rubric for Report file:///Users/mrscotner/Desktop/A English Second Semester Guide/Utopia/Written-Report Rubric.doc

Q & A for Utopia On Wednesday, May 1st every student should have viewed and read the posted Utopias by classtime

Due Dates Utopia YouTube is due uploaded to Blackboard by midnight, Tuesday, April 30th. By Wednesday, May 1st 7:00, all students should have already viewed the others’ PowerPoints making notes for questions to relay to that group. From 7-8: Group A (1: Hailey; 2: Bene; 3: Emily; 4: Sydney 5: Mandy) will ask questions of Group B (1: Randy; 2: Tim; 3: Estaban; 4: Isaiah) regarding the feasibility, functionality, and analysis of their utopia. Each member must address the question in a rational, analytical manner stating the most coherent response. From 8-9: Group B (1: Randy; 2: Tim; 3: Estaban; 4: Isaiah) will ask questions of Group A (1: Hailey; 2: Bene; 3: Emily; 4: Sydney 5: Mandy) regarding the feasibility, functionality, and analysis of their utopia. Etc. For example: Group A, 1 (Hailey) will ask a question and Group B, 1 (Randy will respond). If the response from Group B seems inadequate, the next questioner (Bene) may ask additional questions as a follow-up) for which Randy must respond. You may interact with each other by phone, hangouts, FT, text to help each other out. You may also have your questions ready prior to Wednesday’s class. After 5 minutes, if the question is still in discussion, I will intervene to go to the next question and person. The point of this Q & A is to ask questions similarly to a court proceeding or debate, that ”stumps” the validity of the utopia. I will be grading on this ability to not only ask these compelling questions, but answering them soundly.

Final Grades The Utopia Presentation, Report, and Q & A grades will be posted by Thursday, May 2nd. Final Grades will be available by May 7th.