Literary Lecture Series: Orwell's 1984

Literary Lecture Series
This dynamic series invites participants to explore masterpieces of world literature that illuminate timeless questions of politics, power, psychology, and human imagination. Together we will read Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannos and Plato’s Republic; journey through Mexico with Campobello’s Cartucho and Rulfo’s Pedro Páramo; examine Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s fearless critiques of colonialism; and revisit George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm with fresh eyes for our current moment. Through lively discussion, these courses connect ancient and modern voices across cultures, offering insight into enduring struggles of justice, freedom, and truth. No prior knowledge of Greek—or any language but English—is required.
Additional details for each class are available at www.sfcc.augusoft.net.

We usually see George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 (published in 1949) as a warning against totalitarianism. We may even lob the book's terms--doublethink, thoughtcrime--towards those we disagree with, patting ourselves on the back for our own freedom of thought. But listen to what Orwell once wrote about free democracies: "When one looks at the all-prevailing schizophrenia of democratic societies, the lies . . . told for vote-catching purposes, the silence about major issues, the distortions of the press, it is tempting to believe that in totalitarian countries there is less humbug." This 6-week course tries to read 1984 afresh--as if it speaks to us directly. In the first session, we'll discuss Chapters 1 - 4.