This lesson contains 20 slides, with interactive quizzes, text slides and 4 videos.
Lesson duration is: 90 min
Items in this lesson
George Orwell's
1984 (1949)
Slide 1 - Slide
DILEMMAS
Vote with your gut:
fast and without thinking about it too much
Slide 2 - Slide
Being happy is better than being right.
Agree
Disagree
Slide 3 - Poll
Democracy is just the dictatorship of the 51 %.
Agree
Disagree
Slide 4 - Poll
In the future, countries on Earth will become...
More and more democratic
More and more dictatorial
Slide 5 - Poll
Fear and punishment work better to influence people's behavior than happiness and rewards.
Agree
Disagree
Slide 6 - Poll
I'd rather have principles and no friends, than have friends but lie to them about what I really believe.
Agree
Disagree
Slide 7 - Poll
If the government passes a new law with which I vehemently disagree, it is still my duty as a citizen to try to follow that law.
Agree
Disagree
Slide 8 - Poll
Strong belief in any one political system means not thinking
Agree
Disagree
Slide 9 - Poll
Have you read George Orwell's 1984?
A
Yes
B
No
Slide 10 - Quiz
Slide 11 - Video
George Orwell's 1984
- Written in 1948, published in 1949
- Chilling dystopian future
- Warning against totalitarianism of the 1910s-1940s
- One of the most relevant political sci-fi novels ever written
- Let's have a look at what motivated Orwell to write it
Slide 12 - Slide
Slide 13 - Video
01:41
Why would people be puzzled by Orwell warning of the dangers of collectivism?
Slide 14 - Open question
02:26
True or false? Writing in the 1940s, Orwell thought that it was only a matter of time before the entire world turned collectivist.
A
True
B
False
Slide 15 - Quiz
03:05
Do you think that democratic rights and freedoms would be harder or easier to maintain and defend in a socialist centrally planned economy with a very strong government? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Slide 16 - Open question
04:36
People who only want pleasure and comfort in life can very easily be manipulated into fearful subservience under a strong national government.
A
That's what Orwell said
B
That's not what Orwell said
Slide 17 - Quiz
05:39
Who's right? Orwell: totalitarianism works best with an angry government and a fearful populace Huxley: totalitarianism works best with a distracted, fulfilled and drugged populace