Information and History Manipulation
In your groups, research and discuss the following questions:
Group 1 & 2: To what extent did the Soviet Union use censorship? To what degree did it affect daily life for its citizens?
Group 4 & 5: To what extent is China’s censorship manipulating information? Examples?
Group 6: What is the origin of Valentine’s Day? How is it related to Lupercalia?
Aim: How does George Orwell portray the usage of controlling of information and history in 1984?
Do Now
STALIN’S USAGE OF ERASING HISTORY
A meeting of the St. Petersburg chapter of the Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class in February 1897. Shortly after the picture was taken the whole group was arrested. / Nadezhda Krupskaya�
“‘Who controls the past,’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’”
Essential Question: What is the main purpose of manipulation of history in 1984?
ANALYZE THIS QUOTE FROM 1984
“Suddenly there sprang into his mind, ready-made as it were, the image of a certain Comrade Ogilvy, who had recently died in battle, in heroic circumstances. . . . It was true that there was no such person as Comrade Ogilvy, but a few lines of print and a couple of faked photographs would soon bring him into existence.”
TURN AND TALK
ACTIVITY
Think of any event throughout history and attempt to persuade the class that the event never existed.
Summary
Source
https://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/parallel-thoughts/history-propaganda-03032017151822.html
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/media-censorship-china
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/z2p3k2p/revision/4
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34504142
https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2