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Education

Eastern Illinois University

Dystopia

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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Using Dystopian Texts To Promote Social Responsibility In The Composition Classroom, Melissa Ames Jan 2018

Using Dystopian Texts To Promote Social Responsibility In The Composition Classroom, Melissa Ames

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Since the Colonial period, educational institutions in the United Stateshave been tasked with developing character as well as academic skill. Whilein earlier epochs such character education would have been explicitly tied tomorality as defined within Christian contexts, today's character educationtakes on a more secular form, focusing on developing skills related to socialresponsibility. By definition, social responsibility is "a personal investmentin the well-being of people and the planet" (Berman 15). Despite the fact thatmany feel that public schools and universities are ideal sites for this type oftraining, research has found that instructors are often reluctant to discusscontroversial issues within their classrooms …


Bodies Of Debt: Interrogating The Costs Of Technological Progress, Scientific Advancement, And Social Conquests Through Dystopian Literature, Melissa R. Ames Jan 2013

Bodies Of Debt: Interrogating The Costs Of Technological Progress, Scientific Advancement, And Social Conquests Through Dystopian Literature, Melissa R. Ames

Melissa A. Ames

This essay discusses the successes and challenges of teaching a particular cross-curricular course that focused on controversial issues appearing in scientific research and dystopian literature. The course studied narratives that wrestle with ethical concerns surrounding “progress” (societal achievements, technological advancement, scientific discoveries, and so forth). Contemporary debates and specific issues addressed throughout this course included cloning, stem cell research, black market organ transplants, human trafficking, surveillance technology, euthanasia, and capital punishment. In alignment with research concerning best practices in teaching social responsibility topics, this course was centered on a set of inquiry questions that stretched across all units, texts, and …


Bodies Of Debt: Interrogating The Costs Of Technological Progress, Scientific Advancement, And Social Conquests Through Dystopian Literature, Melissa R. Ames Jan 2013

Bodies Of Debt: Interrogating The Costs Of Technological Progress, Scientific Advancement, And Social Conquests Through Dystopian Literature, Melissa R. Ames

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This essay discusses the successes and challenges of teaching a particular cross-curricular course that focused on controversial issues appearing in scientific research and dystopian literature. The course studied narratives that wrestle with ethical concerns surrounding “progress” (societal achievements, technological advancement, scientific discoveries, and so forth). Contemporary debates and specific issues addressed throughout this course included cloning, stem cell research, black market organ transplants, human trafficking, surveillance technology, euthanasia, and capital punishment. In alignment with research concerning best practices in teaching social responsibility topics, this course was centered on a set of inquiry questions that stretched across all units, texts, and …