Through allegory, satire, and yes, geometry, Edwin Abbott Abbott's 1884 novella Flatland probes reality and the limits of perception. The protagonist and narrator, A Square, introduces us to his two-dimensional reality and its society of shapes. Flatland is home to many alien-seeming concepts, such as the practice of ‘sight recognition’, a social hierarchy based on the number and evenness of a shape’s sides, and rigid class distinctions and practices, that on reflection, seem strangely familiar. Flatland’s insights into mathematics and dimensional realities have inspired figures like Einstein and Hawking, and its witty satire of the values of Victoria-era English society remains relevant today. Extracts from other texts will be used to illuminate themes and genre. This course will consist of close reading, discussion, and creative and personal writing leading up to a final analytic essay for the assessment.
Students must have a copy of the book for the course. You can purchase a copy from the office. Students are advised to read the text before the course begins.
