New Dystopian Lit Class Examines America’s Present and Possible Future

Ms. Rodriguez’s third period students start the day with a quote by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Photo: Alika Awan

By ALIKA AWAN

Finally, a place to formally discuss impending doom! The Dystopian Literature class, created by Ms. Joanna Rodriguez, is being taught to students for the first time this year. 

With an equal balance of fiction and nonfiction texts, students in room 305 focus on government and society in the fall, with gender significance, feminism, propaganda, media, and censorship being analyzed in the spring. The class is open to both juniors and seniors.

The course was first considered when Ms. Suzane Jacobs, the Assistant Principal of English, asked the ELA teachers for more ideas for English electives. Ms. Rodriguez looked at electives that students in colleges like NYU and Harvard were taking, and she found that multiple schools had Dystopian Literature as an option. A dystopia is an imaginary world of great suffering or oppression; books set in dystopian futures can be both exciting and thought-provoking.

“I was writing the curriculum in March 2020 — that was when I was told the class was approved,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “Schools got shut down and I wasn't sure if I would be able to teach it, but it actually did get approved.”

This September was her first time teaching Dystopian Literature in person. “I really enjoy it,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “I see it as an opportunity to learn from [my students] as they learn from me. Often I’m impressed by their critical thinking skills, their connections to our own society, and their prior knowledge that I'm not as informed about.”

The class had an interesting start as students competed in teams to build the tallest marshmallow tower on the first day of school.

One of the teams consisted of Farwa Shad ‘22, Hristain Dsouza Michaeli ‘22, and Suki Paul ‘22. “The materials we used were one big piece of marshmallow, three spaghetti sticks, three finger-length pieces of tape, and three long ropes,” Shad said. “Our strategy was to make the marshmallow our base and then stick the sticks on the marshmallow, by using half of the marshmallow as the base and the other half to act as a sort of stabilizing glue.” Shad’s team then “got the ropes wrapped around the pieces where the sticks connected, putting a piece of tape if needed.” Their team didn’t win, but in the end, their tower reached 13 centimeters.

Shad and Dsouza Michaeli took Ms. Rodriguez’s Dystopian Literature during the first semester, and both decided to take the class again for a second semester. 

Shad said the other English electives sounded “bland” and “based on the same thing.” Shad said, “This was different. It focused on one genre.”

“When we go over Dystopian Literature, we don't go over just one story,” Paul said. “This class is more specific and gives us more control over what we want to do.”

When Paul saw Dystopian Literature being offered, it reminded her of Lois Lowry’s The Giver. She happened to be fond of the movie, so she decided to sign up for the class. Paul wanted a course to “analyze and break things down about current events and our society.”

Dystopian Literature focuses on the novels 1984 by George Orwell, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. One of the main goals of the class is to teach students what a dystopia is, how it relates to today’s world, and how to prevent the future from taking such a wrong turn.

Ms. Rodriguez said, “A lot of what we do is not only theme analysis but making connections to our own society — both history and present — and using these novels to shape who we are as people and act accordingly.”

The class involves a mix of reading, writing, and debate. “We do Socratic seminars each semester,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “We also write essays in which we juxtapose our society to the dystopian societies we read about.”

“I want to make sure that I establish fun and creative lessons,” Ms. Rodriguez continued. “Ninth and tenth grade ELA has so much essay writing, and seniors have essays for applications and scholarships. I find that the students enjoy more of a creative structure. Last year was a lot different. It was remote, obviously, so the means of collaboration were a lot more difficult.”

Her work has paid off, it seems, because former students in Dystopian Literature passed by her in the hallway, saying they miss her class and they “regret not taking it again.” Ms. Rodriguez explained that statements like these are “one of the highest forms of compliments and flattery” for her. The class is helping her “rediscover a passion for teaching,” she said.

Dsouza Michaeli agrees that the course’s assignments are creative. “You have freedom, and it’s more fun than written exams,” he said. “Last semester we had to rewrite the ending of 1984. Some people made the ending positive.”

“Some people wrote prologues to it,” Shad said. “It was cool.”

Dsouza Michaeli said, “One of our summative assessments was to compare the stories we read to real-life issues and events. I found that interesting because I don’t think a lot of people see the world as a dystopia.”

Dsouza Michaeli likes the course’s summative assessments. He said, “They’re never formatted like exams, where you have this class period to just answer a question. It's always an essay or presentation — you get more freedom.” He added that Dystopian Literature has a “theme over the whole semester.” He said topics in other electives “move around a lot,” and “Dystopian Literature is good if you like a structured class,” adding that it isn’t a “dreary class.”

Paul said, “Right before this class I have AP Biology, so here I can relax, and the work is enjoyable. I like the group work. I'm always laughing in this class every day.”

Dsouza Michaeli recommends Dystopian Lit to people who are critical thinkers and those who evaluate the world around them. “If you don't care about what's going on in society, the class won't be as interesting for you,” he said.

“Ms. Rodriguez makes the class more fun,” Shad said. “I love her. She's amazing.”

Dsouza Michaeli said, ”She’s very understanding. If you have a problem with turning in work late, she’ll try to work with you, but she isn’t a teacher that you can walk all over. This class is nice. You’re not crying about homework.”

“She's one of those teachers you'd remember after you graduate,” Paul said.

Ms. Rodriguez feels that Dystopian Literature offers students something important.

“It allows students to realize their importance in the world, and do what they need to do to maintain a healthy society,” she said. Her goal is to have the class play a role in “helping them become their best before entering college.”