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!
How to get the most out of George Orwell Presents: 1984 with John C "Chuck" Chalberg, Ph.D.:
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First, read the course materials below before the first class meeting.
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Then have a notebook ready and available for class notes each live session.
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Read assignments before class meetings
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Watch that week’s recording if you need to revisit information from our live session.
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Do the assignments, quizzes, and any extra work assigned for that week.
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Once the course is completed to the parent's and professor’s satisfaction, there is a Certificate of Completion at the end to be filled in for your records.
Total Class Meetings: 6
Duration: 55 minutes per class
Prerequisite: None. It is recommended that students read the work before the first day of class.
Suggested Grade Level: 10th to 12th grade
Suggested Credit: ½ semester credit Literature
Instructor: John C "Chuck" Chalberg, Ph.D.
Instructor Email: chuck.chalberg@gmail.com
Course 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.
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.
- Teacher: Chuck Chalberg