「烏托邦」雖然是歐洲近代才新創的字眼，於二十世紀以降，大體說來，它所體現的思想方式似乎是破產了（說「似乎」，因為仍有例外）。所謂「烏托邦」的願景，要麼被斥為缺乏科學根據，不然就是不切實際，或者（若當真實現了）就是一場夢魘。可是「烏托邦」可以說代表著某種西方政治哲學源遠流長的思考進路，甚至誇張點說，它是政治哲學之所以可能的根本條件。本課程試圖重審「烏托邦」作為一種思考進路在今日的可能性。
Although "utopia" is a relatively recent term, the way of thinking that it stands for seems to have become bankrupt since the catastrophic political events during the 20th century ("seems," because there are exceptions). The alleged dream of a utopia is now either seen as "lacking scientific basis," impractical, or (when it actually becomes practical) a nightmare. But "utopia" could be said to stand for a long-standing tradition in the West of how to philosophize about politics: to exaggerate crudely for the sake of clarity, political philosophy (as opposed to political science) stands and falls by whether utopian thinking can still be legitimate. It is from this point of view that this course attempts to entertain its renewal in present times.