PowerPoint Presentation Introductory Lecture: 1984

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Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
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Why 1984?George Orwells reference point for a
future of mind control, state surveillance, and
human lonelinessBruce Springstein sings Born in
the USA to fans around the world, as Ronald
Reagan sweeps the US presidential electionApple
computer releases the Macintosh personal
computer andUnion Carbides pesticide plant in
Bhopal, India releases over 40 tons of toxic gas,
killing at least 10,000 people in the first few
days.
Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
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What is 1984 a story about?1984 is an
enormously influential satire, introducing
words/concepts like doublespeak and thoughtcrime
into the English lexicon.Orwell, who wrote the
book shortly before his death, maintained that
it was written with the explicit intention to
alter other peoples idea of the kind of society
they should strive after.
Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
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The place where there is no darkness was the
imagined future, which one would never see, but
which, by foreknowledge, one could mystically
share in. But with the voice from the telescreen
nagging at his ears he could not follow the train
of thought further... Like a leaden knell the
words came back at him WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM
IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
(Orwell, 1984 1948)
Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
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He went back to the table, dipped his pen, and
wrote To the future or to the past, to a time
when thought is free, when men are different from
one another and do not live alone -- to a time
when truth exists and what is done cannot be
undone From the age of uniformity, from the age
of solitude, from the age of Big Brother, from
the age of doublethink -- greetings! He was
already dead, he reflected. It seemed to him that
it was only now, when he had begun to be able to
formulate his thoughts, that he had taken the
decisive step. The consequences of every act are
included in the act itself. He wrote
Thoughtcrime does not entail death thoughtcrime
IS death. (Orwell, 1984 1948)
Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
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Six Weeks in Time, Nov/Dec 1984
Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
Time Magazine, November 19
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Six Weeks in Time, Nov/Dec 1984
Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
Time Magazine, December 3
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Six Weeks in Time, Nov/Dec 1984
Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
Time Magazine, November 26
Time Magazine, December 10
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Six Weeks in Time, Nov/Dec 1984
Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
Time Magazine, November 12
Time Magazine, December 17
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Questions for the classWhat do these moments
and events -- our future imaginaries, political
realities, technological innovations, and the
disastrous implications of social and economic
inequality -- have to do with one another?What
role does technology play in creating -- and
addressing -- inequality?
Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
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Questions for the classWhat does the global
information economy look like on the ground?How
do we imagine -- and create -- a more just future?
Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
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Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
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Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
We refuse to let our work be judged on the basis
of a students ability to collect trivia. We want
it to be judged instead on the intellectual
habits of mind it engenders. And we also value
certain habits of work the acceptance of
increasing levels of responsibility, the
increasing capacity to communicate appropriately
to others, a willingness to take a stand as well
as a willingness to change ones mind, and being
someone who can be counted on the meet deadlines
as well as keep ones word. (Deborah Meier,
The Power of Their Ideas)
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Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement
Habits of Critical ReadingContent What is the
authors argument?Evidence How do authors know
what they know?Context What are the cultural,
historical, personal, social or economic factors
that makes this argument significant?Supposition
How might things (the authors argument, the
analysis of the data, the outcomes of the event)
have been different?Relevance Who cares? Why
does this matter?
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Popular TechnologyAdvocacy and Activism in an
Age of IT
TODAY Intro 1984 Syllabus Habits of
Mind Learning Agreement