Saving the Future Paper

The Ministry for the Future has been called not just a "utopia," but a "transitional utopia," a novel that actually shows us how we might get the climate crisis under control.  

The novel lays out a host of strategies - political, economic, technological, environmental, and cultural - to address the climate crisis. This paper calls on you to investigate one of those strategies, and richly, supportively, and critically examine, research, and evaluate that strategy. (This paper does not lend itself to generative AI.)

1) How precisely does the novel portray the strategy? Study references in the novel to the strategy. Draw on specifics and quotations (indicating page numbers) and carefully describe and explicate Robinson's depiction of the strategy. (You don't need to put the novel in your bibliography; just put the page numbers in your paper in parenthesis when you refer to or quote from it.)   

2) What else can you learn about the strategy from your own research? Drawing on several additional resources, how does what you learn compare and contrast with Robinson's depiction in the novel? Is the strategy already being used or debated? What is happening with it? What is likely to happen in the future? (Do include several sources in your bibliography - 4 or 5? I prefer MLA over APA but either is acceptable, just be consistent.)    

3) What is your evaluation of the strategy? Could it make a difference? How effective, valuable, or important is the strategy? What other strategies should/would be important to follow at the same time to insure that the strategy you are discussing is successful? Is the strategy politically viable? What could or should be done, or not done, to insure the strategy is workabl  and successful? Or what needs be done to stop or avoid the strategy if it is not a good idea?

So far, this part of the paper just described should be at least 5 double-spaced pages.  

4) Next, conclude by writing a short (400 words?) "sales pitch" or "elevator speech" for or against the strategy. Sum up what you have learned in a way that will convice others.

5) Lastly, give your pitch or speech a few times to some different audiences, and, finally... 

6) Write a final paragraph about what you learned from sharing the idea with others.