Utopia: literally means "no place" - the term was coined by Thomas More in 1511 in his work titled "Utopia". A Utopia is an ideal world of perfection. The direct translation is important because a Utopia is an empty place, lacking things like crime, sickness, etc. At what point does a utopia become oppressive? A utopia would require heavy regulation to the point it may become a nightmare. EX: Communist Russia: the idea of communism was an idealized and pictured as a world without starvation, with equality for all, yet the attempt to create such an impossible society ended in death, a severe lack of civil rights, and political havoc.
Dystopia: (a famous one cited by Little was Brave New World). It is a nightmare place, the opposite of utopia.
Relation to "The Tempest": Is the island a utopia or a dystopia? One man's utopia is another's dystopia. Depending on the reading of the text, you can coax out either extreme (it's weird how closely these two opposites are related).
-Ashley Smith, Discussion F (Aaron)
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