Be sure to read "Youtopia" for Thursday's class and answer TWO of the questions below as usual. We'll be gearing up for another paper soon, so stay tuned...
Q1: Though Serenbe claims to be a "premium-living paradise," and an escape from the pressures of modern life, is the author convinced? Where does Battan begin to have suspicions about the so-called utopian lifestyle in Serenbe? Or, what does she want the reader to question for themselves?
Q2: Early in the essay, Battan admits that she, too, is desperate to find an antidote from the 21st-century lifestyle, but says that "Unplugging had begun to feel like another full-time job" (170). What does she mean by this? How could relaxing or simply 'taking it easy' become just as labor intensive as work itself? How might places like Serenbe be partially responsible for this?
Q3: What is the essential philosophy of Serenbe? What does it try to do for its residents, and why do the people who come here find this attractive? Do you feel the people who run Serenbe practice what they preach? Or is it an advertising ploy?
Q4: Toward the end of the essay, Battan responds to the health-industry mantra that "Health is wealth" by remarking, "but the inverse is more true--as a 2017 study in The Lancet puts it, "Low socioeconomic status is one of the strongest predictors of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide" (175). What is Battan's point here, and why does this suggest that the health industry--and in some ways, Serenbe--is treating the wrong problem?
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