Dystopian & Utopian Terminology
The following terms and definitions are defined using the Cambridge Dictionary and serve as key vocabulary for defining and understanding dystopian and utopian literature:
- Authoritarianism: the belief that people must obey completely and not be allowed freedom to act as they wish (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
- Censorship: the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
- Propaganda: information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
- Surveillance: the careful watching of a person or place, especially by the police or army, because of a crime that has happened or is expected (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
- Oppression: a situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
- Totalitarianism: a political system in which those in power have complete control and do not allow anyone to oppose them (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
- Transhumanism: the theory that science and technology can help human beings develop beyond what is physically and mentally possible at the present time (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
- Egalitarianism: the belief in or practicing of egalitarian principles (= the idea that all people should have the same rights and opportunities) (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
- Harmony:a situation in which people are peaceful and agree with each other, or when things seem right or suitable together (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
- Equality: the right of different groups of people to have a similar social position and receive the same treatment (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
- Allegory: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
- Sustainability: the quality of causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue for a long time (Cambridge Dictionaryd.)
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