​Symposium Series:

​1984, Fiction or Nonfiction

​Format

​This is a guided, peer-to-peer discussion for people who have read 1984 and want to think together about its ideas.

​We’ll move past plot and personal opinions and focus on the broader themes Orwell raises, especially language, power, fear, and how these dynamics show up in modern life.

​The discussion is lightly moderated, open, and thoughtful, with an emphasis on shared inquiry and good-faith conversation.

​The Book

​Orwell’s novel asks what happens when fear replaces trust, when convenience overrides liberty, and when people slowly accept conditions they once would have found intolerable. Its power comes from how familiar the mechanisms feel, not how extreme they are.

​Questions to consider while reading:

• ​How is the world in the book similar to our world?

• ​How is it different?

• ​Consider the parts of our world that are similar to the world in the book: what are the pros and cons of those similarities for everyday people like us?

• ​Consider the parts of our world that are different from the world in the book: what do you wish our society would borrow from the world in the book, and what in our world must we prevent from becoming more similar to the world in the book?

​Your Hosts

​Bradley Mankoff, who taught many political sciences courses and writes about digital censorship.

​Anu Pandey, who has a weekly newsletter with thousands of readers, writing about feminization of society and how that affects our lived experiences.