This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
Learn one of the most famous dystopian stories that’s often required high school reading. What’s behind the book? Who was Orwell? Join Dr. Chalberg as he comes to class dressed as the author himself and teaches as Orwell!
Total classes: 6
Prerequisite: None. It is recommended that students read the work before the first day of class.
Suggested grade level: 10th to 12th
Suggested credit: ½ semester credit Literature
Description
The centerpiece of the course will be reading and discussing George Orwell’s prophetic novel, “1984”. The course will also include biographical material on Orwell, especially material that helps explain why he wrote this book. The instructor, Dr. Chalberg, has for years performed a one-man show as Orwell. Therefore, he will be presenting this class in the person of Orwell. In other words, Orwell will be interacting with the students. In addition, there will be short segments of Orwell as Orwell, meaning prepared segments with Dr. Chalberg portraying Orwell on topics related to the novel that is under consideration in this course. Roughly half of each class session will be devoted to background biographical detail, and the other half will be devoted to the novel itself.
Materials and Homework
Course Materials: “1984” by George Orwell. Any unabridged edition will do.
Homework: The reading of the novel will be divided into six sessions. The expectation would be for roughly an hour to an hour and a half of reading per day. Students may choose to read the novel in advance of the course and then refresh themselves by re-reading highlighted portions before each class. However, reading the book for the first time on a daily basis with the class is certainly going to be fine. There will be two quizzes, one at the end of the first three sessions and a second at the end of the second three sessions. For students interested in writing practice and feedback, there will be an optional paper at the end of the course. The topic will be the relevance of Orwell for today and why he still matters today. The suggested length is 1,000- to 1,200 words. The deadline for this paper will be flexible.
