Education in utopia and anti-Utopia

The essence of mankind is optimism. Therefore, he has always dreamed of a better future and a better world since the existence of humanity. Utopias are the establishment of this ideal society and order created by human consciousness. However, as being creations of a perfect place, not only do they reflect our desires and hopes about the future, but also criticize the periods and therefore the societies in which they are written. On the other hand, anti-utopias are literary works depicting a society or a place which is much worse than the existing one. Therefore, by portraying a darker future, they satirize the existing conditions and unlike utopians they express their fears and try to warn the reader about the dangers awaiting them.One common point shared by all utopian and anti-utopian works is that they have a message to send. The writers of both types, as citizens of their society, are influenced by the events that surround them. Thus, they base their works on various themes such as education which is a central concern to many utopian and anti-utopian writers. In their works they describe the features of an ideal educational system and emphasize the importance of such education in the creation and maintenance of a desired society and a perfect life. Anti-utopians, on the other hand, indicate the wrongdoings in education and serve as a caution for people to avoid these actions which would result in a worse life and a worse world.In this dissertation utopian and anti-utopian works written in different centuries and which deal specifically with the subject of education have been chosen: Thomas More?s `Utopia? (1516), Jonathan Swift?s `Gulliver?s Travels? (1726), Samuel Butler?s `Erewhon? (1872) and Aldous Huxley?s `Island? (1962) have been studied in terms of aims and principles of education, education of children and adult education. The aim has been to analyze the similarities and differences in the studies of these works written during different periods and an effort has been exerted to analyze their views on education.Key Words: Utopia, Anti-utopia, Education.