George Orwell and Nineteen Eighty-Four
Introduction
It is now over 70 years since the publication of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four – a terrifying dystopian novel in which a totalitarian state maintains psychological and physical control over a joyless, fearful population.
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system in which order is imposed on the population through ideological manipulation and the systematic use of state terror. A totalitarian state is a one-party state in which dissent is ruthlessly suppressed. The term has been used to describe both Hitler's Germany (a fascist totalitarian state) and Stalin's Soviet Union (a communist totalitarian state).
In an era of ‘post-truth’, in which people are routinely subjected to new pervasive forms of surveillance, and a world in which many politicians and others in positions of power no longer even pretend that ‘ordinary rules’ apply to them, many would claim that the messages of Nineteen Eighty-Four have acquired a new contemporary relevance. Is it any coincidence that Nineteen Eighty-Four went to the top of the Amazon bestsellers list in the US in 2013 when the story of Ed Snowden as the NSA ‘whistle blower’ first broke, and again in early 2017, just as the newly elected Donald Trump (with his insistence that any inconvenient facts or criticism constituted ‘fake news’) took office? Many people will also have reached for their copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four after hearing Kellyanne Conway (then one of Trump’s senior aides) use the phrase ‘alternative facts’ in defence of the White House press secretary’s (disputed) claim about the size of the crowds lining the National Mall in Washington DC to witness Trump's inauguration in January 2017 (Swaine, 2017).
This free short course will provide you with an introduction to the main themes of Nineteen Eighty-Four. You will focus on the distinctive language and terminology Orwell used. You will understand the connections between some key events in Orwell’s life and the political ideas which underpin Nineteen Eighty-Four. You will also see how Orwell foreshadowed some of the issues that we now face in contemporay society. The course will be taught through a mixture of text and audio material.
This course will be an ideal accompaniment to the novel. You will also gain some insight into the historical and political context in which the novel was written and published. To get full benefit from this course and the activities in particular, it is suggested that you either read the book as you progress through the course or read it before you start the course. Reading the book is not included in the course study time.
This OpenLearn course is produced in association with The Open University course DD316 Modern political ideas [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . It was written by Dr Susan Allen. Susan Allen has been employed as an Associate Lecturer at The Open University since 1999. Her academic and research interests lay within the disciplines of politics and international relations.