Fall 2024: September 9 – December 27
Subject: PHIL (Philosophy)
Course Level: 300
Number of Credits: 4 U.S. / 8 ECTS
Max Enrollment: 22
Schedule: Wed 14:30 – 17:30 CET (Berlin) | 8:30 – 11:30 EDT (New York)
Distributional Area: Meaning, Being, Value
Language of Instruction: English
Course Prerequisites: English B2 / Equivalent or higher

Utopia is a distinctive genre aiming to describe an ideal society (in Greek, the word means “a place of nowhere”). Thus, as a genre, utopia overlaps with science fiction and satire. Nevertheless, modernity prefers dystopia for expressing critiques of idealizations. In economic thinking, in particular, “utopian” currently has a pejorative connotation — the one that negates pragmatism and deviates from scientific approaches. The objective of this course is to deepen our understanding of the concept through exploring contexts in which economic theories of free-markets or scientific socialism became “utopian” and vice versa. As we will see from reading classic utopian literature, such books as Plato’s “Republic,” Thomas More’s “Utopia,” “The New Atlantis” by Francis Bacon, Charles Fourier on Harmony and Phalansteries, and early British political economic writing often contained fresh descriptions of the purely social and economic parameters, despite their ideological and methodological liabilities. We will explore the boundaries, type of organization, tendency to violence, the economics (including notions of property, money, and labor), technological development and inner contradictions of the rich utopian tradition. Special attention will be paid to Utopias of the Enlightenment, such as works by Alexander Radishchev, soviet utopias of Kazimir Malevich and Alexander Chayanov, and more contemporary utopian projects, which emerged at the time when capitalism has been unable to cope with economic inequality, catastrophic climate change and the loss of political balance. Ultimately, we will observe how, when hopes for socialism receded into the past after the collapse of the USSR, the search for a new utopia has become increasingly more relevant. The course aims to bring together those studying philosophy, literature, history, political science and economics.

Guidelines for the Statement of Purpose:
Craft a reflective statement of purpose explaining your interest in the Smolny Beyond Borders online course. The file should be saved with your name and course title as the filename and uploaded accordingly. Your statement’s clarity and substance will significantly influence our selection. Convey your motivations and aspirations for this course succinctly but thoroughly. Kindly write your statement in the course’s Language of Instruction.

Application Portal Instructions:
1) Use the Latin alphabet for all entries on the portal, including your name. If the Language of Instruction is Russian, you may use Cyrillic only within the Statement of Purpose file, and the title of the file should still be in English.
2) Refrain from using email addresses associated with Russian or Belarusian educational institutions.
3) While completing the “Required Information” section, ensure you fill in the “Province” field for your address.
4) Provide an address outside Russia or Belarus in both the “Required Information” and “Geographic Location Confirmation” sections of the “Online Course Application”. This ensures we can send your transcript.
5) You must press the “Sign” button twice during the application.
6) If you hold a bachelor’s degree, select “4th+” in the “Academic Year (online)” section.
7) Applicants either unaffiliated or affiliated with educational institutions in Russia and Belarus should list ‘Smolny Beyond Borders’ as their educational institution.
8) In the student ID section, enter ‘SBB’.
9) Consider drafting your motivation letter ahead of time. Save it as a separate file with this format: LastName_FirstName_CourseTitle for a smoother application process.