1984, 4 decades later
1984, or 2026? (due December 11)
The above question will, should, make more sense by the time you’re submitting this paper.
Don’t make this assignment harder than it is. Your main task is to demonstrate that you can analyze a social problem (using the framework we’ve discussed in class), picking something from Orwell’s book, and then something that pertains to contemporary society (from the linked articles on the assignments web page). You’ll be asked to do two things in this assignment:
- Explicitly use the frameworks for analyzing social problems, and the ideas about social problems we’ve discussed in class to make a case for a social problem in the book;
- Examine possible contemporary parallels with Orwell’s 1984. Choose 3 articles from among these categories:
(a) big brother; (b) perpetual war; (c) doublespeak; (d) information control (e) police state
and discuss how they relate to the book. These four categories aren’t necessarily social problems, so put some thought into what you think the actual social problem is (e.g., Is Big Brother a social problem, or is it what Big Brother symbolizes? What might that be?). I will have a web page with articles covering topics from these four categories. You can choose to use articles from more than one from a category, or stick to one. Your job is to figure out, Is there a social problem; if so what is it? If not, why not? And then describe and analyze it, using the framework from class. This could be the same social problem you discussed from the book, or a different one—your choice. I would recommend choosing an article that focuses on the same kind of social problem you’ve described and analyzed in the book—it will save you a little time. So in the second part of the paper you need to:
- briefly summarize the articles you used
- Go through the social problems framework, discuss whether the issues the articles address pose a social problem; describe why or why not;
- discuss how they relate to 1984
The point behind this assignment is to see that you can discuss and analyze a social problem, using the tools we’ve discussed in class. That’s what I’ll be looking for. If you stray from this, it will be difficult to do well on this assignment, so make sure you’re clear on how you can go about analyzing a social problem.
An exercise in critical thinking
Critical thinking involves efforts to identify and explain issues, recognize contexts and assumptions, acknowledge multiple perspectives, and evaluate evidence to reach conclusions. The process is as important as the outcome. For this paper, read Orwell’s novel, choose some area of focus for your analysis, and apply what you learn to contemporary society. There are many parallels with US society, as you’ll observe if you look over some of the articles from the five different categories above. It’s your job to choose three articles that help you to critically analyze possible parallels between Orwell’s Oceania and the US, and relate them to social problems analysis. Remember that governments in Washington, DC come and go, policies change, laws may be unevenly enforced over time. But Orwell is also talking to a large extent about power and social control, and there are many ways a ruling class seeks to exert social control over a population. They don’t have to involve force, they don’t even necessarily have to involve the government directly. People may not even be aware that this is happening. So that is your task—In what ways might our own society resemble Orwell’s, and in what ways not?
To compare these two societies, you will want to use the social problems framework we will discuss throughout class—what is the problem as you’ve identified it, what are possible causes (and arguments/evidence for those), what groups are affected, what are some of the consequences, either to individuals, groups, or even institutions (such as government, democracy), who might stand to benefit from a certain way of thinking about or defining the problem, who has the power and access to media to influence public understandings about how problems are framed in the society, and what should be done about the problem (that depends on one’s viewpoint—for instance, what Winston thinks should be done in the book is quite different than what the government thinks the problem is and how it should be addressed)? These questions are your guide to thinking critically about comparisons between Orwell’s society and contemporary US society.
I will use the following criteria in evaluating your papers:
- Making your argument—Does your paper use evidence from the book and from the sources you’ve used to draw parallels/make comparisons between Orwell’s Oceania and US society? Keep in mind—you can use older articles from the Bush/Cheney White House years, as well as more recent articles from the Obama, Trump or Biden White Houses. Governments come and go, and this isn’t about a specific administration or political party, but about how government, war, media, and powerful interests collude to shape public opinion (and isn’t that a form of social control?). 50 points possible.
- Assessing multiple perspectives—to truly understand a social problem, you must look at it from the perspective of those likely harmed, those who stand to benefit, those who may serve as mediators (e.g., the media) in communicating different perspectives, political leaders, etc. 20 points possible.
- Analyzing language—in both the book and US society, language serves as a powerful means of influencing how problems are perceived (for instance, Winston is told he lives in a ‘victory mansion,’ the ‘Ministry of Love’ actually engages in torture of citizens, US enemies on the battlefield may have ‘weapons of mass destruction’ while the US forces have ‘smart bombs’ and ‘precision munitions’). I’ll be looking to see that you’ve addressed the use of language. This doesn’t require you to pick articles from the ‘doublespeak’ section of the list of articles—you should be thinking about how language is used more generally, even where the article isn’t specifically about language use and manipulation). 10 points possible.
- Drawing conclusions—Pull your argument together with a concluding paragraph or two that states concisely what you’ve learned from this process, and what your comparison of Orwell’s Oceania with contemporary US Society suggests. Hopefully you will go into this paper not with a conclusion you’re determined to prove, but with some intellectual energy for doing critical analysis, seeing where it takes you. In the long run, learning how to do that is much more useful than whatever specific conclusions you draw or grades you receive from/on this assignment. 10 pts possible.
- Writing—paper should be proofread, written by you (refer to ‘A note on A.I.’), free of spelling and grammar errors, complete citations in APA format (or a consistent format you use), and organized in a coherent fashion that allows the reader (me ….) to follow your arguments and supporting evidence. 10 pts possible.
Criteria | Developing | Adequate | Proficient |
Thoughtful analysis | Demonstrates partial understanding of how to analyze social problems in book and through articles | Shows basic understanding of how to examine social problems and apply them to parts 1 & 2 | Analysis is thorough and demonstrates ability to critically examine both the novel and contemporary society |
Following guidelines | Several elements missing (social problems framework, articles chosen from list, etc.) | Elements of assignment present, but inconsistently applied in parts 1 & 2. | All elements present, clearly shows an effort to apply the framework to parts 1 & 2 |
| up to 70 pts | 71-85 pts | 86-100 pts |
Some strategy
Keep in mind as you do this paper, there are many ways that social control could express itself in a society. Orwell writes about the most heavy-handed kind. But are there other possibilities for controlling a population that don’t require the sort of total control of Oceania? We will discuss some possibilities in both halves of this course. But mainly, use the social problems questions to structure the paper (causes, consequences, ….).
On A.I.
If I suspect a student has used generative AI to write their paper, I will hold off on assigning a grade until we can have a meeting in Zoom, options ranging from re-writing (likely for reduced credit) to assigning a ‘0’. Machine learning produces plausible-sounding sentences, but, surprisingly or not, they don’t sound like they’re written by humans. Finding and using your own voice in your writing will pay dividends, in the present and future.
100 points are possible. Papers should be double-spaced, 5- 6 pages. I will stop reading after 6 pages, so heed the upper limit. You can lose points for straying from the guidelines, so read them well, understand them, and ask questions if you need to. Due December 11th .
