Dystopia and Society: a Small-Group Seminar Study
Starting in January, we will be looking at a particular form of satire: the dystopian novel. Having read Brave New World and 1984, two of our culture's seminal novels in this genre, you will get together with a small group to read and discuss a more recent novel from the list below, discussing how it reflects and critiques features of our contemporary society. These discussions will form the foundation for Evaluations 4 and 5, part of which will be discussion-based (more details in January).
Please read through the novel descriptions below. You can also find more information about the novels through reader reviews and excerpts posted on Amazon, GoodReads, or other book sites.
Then, no later than Tuesday, January 7 at 5pm, please use the form posted to Classroom to rank and briefly explain your interest (or lack thereof) in each book. I will form your seminar groups giving consideration to your ranking as well as to ensuring balanced numbers across the groups.
Groups will be organized in our first week back after the winter break, and the groups will decide on their own reading schedule through their group's novel, based on the overall timeline and expectations of Evaluation 4 - Dystopia Seminar.
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Adapted from Amazon.com description: In The Power, the world is a recognizable place: there's a rich Nigerian boy who lounges around the family pool; a foster kid whose religious parents hide their true nature; an ambitious American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But then a vital new force takes root and flourishes, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power--they can cause agonizing pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world drastically resets. This novel asks the question: What might happen if women suddenly turned the tables and came to dominate the institutions of power in our world? Note: this book is a non-linear narrative told through a variety of documents, perspectives, and timelines.
Big Ideas: research and synthesis; civic engagement
Essential Questions: How do authors grapple with society’s problems and solutions in fiction and non-fiction? How do we do the same using the synthesis of our own thinking and others’?
Learning Goals: I can
select and analyze textual support for my inferences about authorial purpose.
read and document a variety of sources.
select and use a variety of sources in developing an argument.
Context:
The ideas in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, George Orwell’s 1984, and other dystopian stories resonate with us as commentaries on human nature and on the principles and forces that shape our societies.
In this task, you will probe significant questions raised by your group’s novel and make connections between its fictional elements and “the real world,” developing your independent inquiry, discussion, and synthesis skills.
Resources:
Brave New World, 1984, and other short dystopian texts
Your dystopian novel
Parlay and articles posted there
Class resources on research, MLA, and argumentation
NOVEL SEMINAR GROUPS – TASK OVERVIEW:
In January and February, you will be reading your novel, preparing to discuss it with your group in a series of half-hour in-class seminar sessions, incorporating ideas from related articles and writing arguments about the topics raised by the articles.
Your seminar discussions will be guided by essential questions that you establish with your group, based on what interests you about your novel, the idea of dystopia as satire and social commentary, and the articles you read.
Your Parlay posts will be formative opportunities to develop your argumentation and synthesis skills as we head into the last unit of the course.
You will use a Seminar Planning GoogleDoc to keep track of reading timelines and essential questions for discussion.
MEETINGS, SUPPLEMENTAL READING, AND PARLAY POSTINGS:
Your groups will meet five times in total:
The first meeting will be to establish timelines for reading and your first essential question.
The other four meetings will be discussions.
The last two meetings will be recorded on video, and your group will decide together which of the two recordings to submit for evaluation.
Before the second, third, and fourth meetings, an article will be posted to Parlay for you to read and to incorporate into your discussion.
An argument topic based on that article will also be posted. Each person is required to complete and post ONE formative Parlay response over the course of the novel study. You can choose which topic to respond to; you are not required to write three posts. This task will give you some practice with formulating an argument and using support – you must use MLA in-text citation and MLA Works Cited format in your post. Your post should be about 500 words long. You will select one of your Parlay posts as a fully-developed short essay for formative assessment of argumentation and MLA documentation. It is due on the day of the fourth discussion session. If you complete more than one posting, you will choose which one to submit.
You should feel free to use Parlay tools to respond to your classmates’ posts. In particular, you are highly encouraged to post responses as additional practice in argumentation.
IMPORTANT DATES
EVALUATION:
After having videoed your last two seminar sessions, your group will decide which one to submit for evaluation. Only one video may be submitted.
Individual group members will be evaluated for the following:
KNOWLEDGE/UNDERSTANDING
familiarity with details of materials:
specific and concrete connections between at least one Parlay article and the group's novel, showing understanding of ideas in both
COMMUNICATION
speaking and listening skills in discussion environment, demonstrating engagement with ideas and with each other:
ability to articulate own points
evidence of active listening
constructive, helpful discussion behaviours