The Ideal Society

Since the Renaissance, humans have contemplated on what the ideal society is. The first, and perhaps most popular, book studying these ideals is Utopia. Written in 1516, this book lists many characteristics that the ideal society in the time of the Renaissance would possess. Our world today is vastly different then 500 years ago, and I maintain that our ideal society would be vastly different as well.

The Prologue and The Promise, an image often associated with the term "Utopia"

Utopia by Sir Thomas More

Sir Thomas More wrote about what he deemed as the perfect society. In this story he discussed the different features of this hypothetical island with fifty-four cities. Some of the features of this society included:

·       Geography that was ideal for both trade and defense/protection from possible attackers

·       Homogeneity, the idea that everything and everyone is as similar as possible

·       The ideal balance between rural and urban communities

·       People who specialize in their work and don’t overwork themselves

·       Thorough education for all citizens

·       Special care for the sick

·       A limited government

·       The avoidance of war

·       The presence of religion but freedom to choose how and what to worship

Modern Day Utopia

Taking the current climate of the United States and the world into consideration, the two main factors that I think would create an ideal society are the quality of the people and the freedoms they have. I believe that if people respect each other and treat each other with understanding and love, the rest of the qualities and attributes of an ideal society will naturally fall into place. I also believe that people should possess the freedom to choose how they want to live: where their home is located, what religion they practice, their occupation, etc. With mutual respect and personal freedoms, the greatest happiness can be achieved.

New Utopia vs. Old Utopia*

The main difference between More’s version of Utopia and my own is the focus on tangible attributes as opposed to attitudes. For example, the ideal society today would not have a population of homogeneous individuals, but would be one where differences and talents are shared and equally celebrated. The strength of a modern day society would be much more dependent on kindness, respect, and freedom.

*While comparing modern and past versions of the ideal society, we must take into account the vast differences between time periods in politics, social status, economics, etc.

Credits:

Supporting Information from Spark Notes

Image courtesy of McCall Studios

Assignment: My Renaissance

My students are studying the Renaissance period in our Rhetoric & Civilization course, and I'm asking them to blog about it.

(Blogging is part of the digital renaissance taking place in our day, an outpouring of new forms of art and communication. So, we are participating in an ongoing rebirth or renewal of culture that is parallel to the period known as the Renaissance in European history.)

Here is what I'm asking my students to do in a post themed "My Renaissance"

Compose a blog post about the Renaissance

• length is about 300 words (400 max)
• refers to self-directed learning
• supports / refers to one of the themes from this period
• personalizes the period (sees this historical thing through an individual perspective)
• well designed visually as a blog post, and includes an image
• includes a meaningful title (NOT: "Blog post #1" or "My Renaissance Post")

I'm also requiring that they respond to one another's blog posts on the blogging platform. I'm cautioning them NOT to lapse into "report mode"--merely paraphrasing some source. I need to see them present in the post through a personal perspective or their own explicitly personal self-directed learning efforts.  Here is an example post.

Brave New Heights

Francesco Petrarch (often called the "Father of the European Renaissance") exemplified the humanists' enthusiasm for antiquity. The old Roman or Greek literature shaped the way he saw the world. In one instance, he read from Livy about someone who said by climbing a certain mountain you could see two separate seas. So, Petrarch took his brother and went mountain climbing in France (Mt. Ventoux).

from my climb up Mt. Timpanogos, 2012

His account of the experience explains what is common: he'd often wanted to climb that mountain, but hadn't gotten around to it. And it wasn't until he actually did the feat that he gained the perspective (both literal and figurative) that he would. That experience echoes my own in finally getting to climb the local Mt. Timpanogos (11,700 feet), which took many hours and much effort. As those who climb mountains know, the view that one earns from taking the climb is more exhilarating than any picture or story by which one vicariously gets that view.

Learning Modes from and for History

Let's look at how communicating and learning has taken place through different media and modes across history, and then try to become more diverse in the learning modes we each use.

Below I outline five learning modes. I first give some historical background on a given approach, then I suggest ways we can use these modes from history to enhance how we learn about history (or anything else). These modes often overlap, but it is helpful to separate them out.

The modes I'll look at:

1. Oral / Aural Learning
2. Visual Learning
3. Digital Learning
4. Experiential Learning
5. Social Learning

Missing from this list is book learning -- not because it isn't important, but because the other modes are those we need more practice in doing.

As you read over the explanations of these, please think about what learning modes that you use most successfully, as well as those you might employ better. Which modes make for the most engaging learning for you, or which work best for a given subject? Which ones haven't you tried, and which promise to make your learning more interesting? 

In the comments, please chime in with your suggestions or with your personal experiences that underscore the value of any of these learning approaches: