Literature: Contemporary Dystopias Online
While several classic dystopias may be studied in high school classrooms – like 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and The Handmaid’s Tale – this literature course will examine more contemporary and popular dystopias featuring adolescent protagonists, allowing students to argue how relevant and similar these dystopias are to their current social climate. Students will engage with this course theme through a number of different methods, including literature circle groups, class discussions, presentations, and close analysis of a variety of secondary source materials like documentaries, video clips, news reports, and short stories.
Students will walk away from the course with essential critical thinking and reading skills and a broadened perception of the world around them. The power of story-telling will allow students to gain new ethical perspectives and learn how to articulate them in a college setting. Most importantly, this course is the beginning of a journey for students to address our human nature and the conditions which impact future generations.
Course Schedule
This course will be offered online from July 17 - 28, 2023. Students must be online for class sessions from 11:00am - 1:00pm and 3:30pm - 5:30pm (Eastern Standard Time), Monday-Friday. Students should also plan to manage their time to complete homework assignments and group work outside of the designated class times.
Academic Director
Michael Macaluso
Michael Macaluso serves a faculty member of the Alliance for Catholic Education and a fellow of the Institute for Educational Initiatives. In this role, he teaches education related courses through the Teaching Fellows M.Ed. program and through the Education, Schooling, and Society program. As faculty of supervision and instruction, he visits ACE Teaching Fellows at various communities around the country, including Tampa, Washington, D.C., and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Macaluso earned his undergraduate degree in English and political science from the University of Notre Dame and his M.Ed. from the ACE Teaching Fellows program in 2006, serving in Baton Rouge. After teaching in the suburbs of Chicago, he earned his Ph.D. in curriculum, instruction, and teacher education from Michigan State University. He specializes in English education and young adult literature.