"1984" in 2025??
Lifelong Learning | Registration opens 8/7/2025 9:00 AM EDT
Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale written by English writer Eric Arthur Blair under the pen name George Orwell. Published in 1949 initially to both broad acclaim and disdain, it is now considered a literary classic. As political and social science fiction, this book has impacted our language (Big Brother) and our thinking in many ways. Politically, it centers on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance and repressive regimentation within centralized societies. From a social science perspective it painfully explores how people, facts and reality can be manipulated by those societies.
This five week course will require that each participant have access to a copy of "1984." There will be assigned readings each week to facilitate our classroom discussion. The goal of this class will be to provide an opportunity for critical thinking about the relevance of this novel to current world events. What lessons can we learn about ourselves and our world from George Orwell?
Paul Kasunich
Paul Kasunich, EdD, has extensive experience in both the K-12 and Higher Education fields. Dr. Kasunich served in a variety of capacities over his twenty years in K-12 public education. His positions included high school teacher, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent. Since 2015, he has been employed as a Professor of Education at Gwynedd Mercy University. As well as teaching in the Doctoral program at Gwynedd, he serves as Dissertation Chair for several doctoral students. Dr. Kasunich is no stranger to LaRoche. From 2000-2006, he taught both Macro and Micro Economics in the Business School at LaRoche. Dr. Kasunich has earned a B.S. in Economics, M.S. in Education, and an EdD. All of his degrees are from Duquesne University.