Dystopian
Utopian & Dystopian Societies:
January 10, 17, 24, 31
This unit deals with cultures, societies and/or governments that have a tight and wide grip on their inhabitants. Often they are dystopian, especially if considered from the perspective of the working, controlled, or oppressed classes. WIkepedia says: "A dystopia (from Ancient Greek: δυσ-, "bad, hard", and Ancient Greek: τόπος, "place, landscape") is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian. Dystopian societies feature different kinds of repressive social control systems, various forms of coercion. Ideas and works about dystopian societies often explore the concept of humans abusing technology and individually and collectively coping, or not being able to properly cope with technology that has progressed far more rapidly than humanity's spiritual evolution. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over the citizens."
Groups:
Heumann:
Divergent: Abbi, Chiara, Alina, Khoi (4) with Tricia Wing
Barcode Tattoo: Carter, Graham, James, Claire, Kevin (5) with Stephanie Bainbridge
1984: Jacob, Jenna, Audrey, Danny, Alison (5) Cristina Rivera Peters
1984: Avery, Justin, Sarah, Juliann (4) with Cindy Hellmann
The Long Walk: Riley, Malaika, Dominic, Alec, (4) with Marcie Mitchell
The Long Walk: Karim, Douglas, Vernon, Nolan, Ian (5) with Cahn Le
Stuart:
Fahrenheit 451: Leon, Kevin, Tomer (3) with Debbie Berge
Divergent: Stephanie, Keiko, Camila, Rachel (4) with Moira Edelman
Divergent: Kiyasha, Jamie, Rana (3) with Stephanie Bainbridge
The Long Walk: Nate, Nikolai, Tony, Mason, Alexis, Dean (6) with Denise Alvord
1984: Isaac, Kyle, Joey, Gunnar (4) with Barbara Bussler
1984: Frankie, Josh, Harrison (3) with Meagan Mujushi
The Assignment (January 31 to February 17):
Using an existing "lettered" project idea or creating one of your own, demonstrate an understanding of your book and the genre. Your project should include an analysis of an aspect of a dystopian society, for example, the components of government, the effects on the inhabitants, or connections with real-world situations, present and/or past.
Your project will be due on Friday, February 17, 2012. Post it in my room (or online if necessary) and fill in this form.
Grading will be done over break and involve the following criteria:
How much does the project show 3 hours of sincere and productive work (per person)? -- 5 points
How much does the project show creativity and/or get the viewer/user/reader interested and involved? -- 5 points
How well does the project show an understanding/analysis of the plot, theme, and/or characters? -- 5 points
How well does the project exhibit your understanding/analysis of an aspect of a dystopian society? --10 points
Sample Student Products (score tally):
Contemporary Examples:
The Uglies (series) by Scott Westerfeld
Divergent by Veronica Roth
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/772005-discussion-questions-for-divergent
Matched by Ally Condie
Gathering Blue Lois Lowry
Among the Hidden (series)
Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins
The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Wayne
Truesight by David Stahler Jr.
The Long Walk by Stephen King (PA)
http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-the-long-walk/free-quiz.html
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Classic (aka old) Examples
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldus Huxley (PA)
Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
1984 by George Orwell
http://classiclit.about.com/od/nineteeneightyfour/a/aa_1984question.htm
Resources & Discussions
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson926/DefinitionCharacteristics.pdf
http://mrhoovler.com/dystopia.aspx -- questions for 1984, 451F, Brave New World