Dystopia Book Club for Teens Part 3: Parable of the Sower
About this Event
The Dystopia Book Club for Teens is a series of three workshops for teenagers aged 16-18, exploring society and social structures, climate change, artifical intelligence, and what it means to be human, through the lens of dystopian fiction. Ideal for older teens who love reading, writing, researching and exploring new ideas, the club will cover three set texts:
1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
2. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
3. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
(Content warning: These novels contain disturbing/adult themes such as sex, graphic descriptions of violence, extreme poverty and environmental destruction).
Ahead of each session, participants will be provided with a set of questions to consider while reading, as well as suggestions for optional further reading or research. During the sessions, we will discuss the texts, considering the authors’ approaches to themes such as: the differences between AI and humans; how societies are structured - privilege and deprivation; historical attitudes to class, gender and race; and climate change and inequality. During the sessions, participants will also create a piece of art or writing inspired by each novel – such as creating a 'wish list' of items they would take with them when disembarking Earth for another world.
Session 3: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Parable of the Sower follows Lauren Olamina, a 15-year-old African American girl living in a walled community in California. The world outside her walls is ravaged by climate change, economic collapse, and social chaos. Lauren possesses a condition known as hyper-empathy, which makes her acutely aware of and sensitive to the emotions and pain of others. After Lauren is forced to leave her home, she begins a journey north in hopes of a better furture. Along the way Lauren gathers a small community around herself, all inspired by one thing - the hope of creating a new, better world.
Parable of the Sower is an extremely brutal, unrelenting depiction of the horrors of climate change and societal breakdown. However, through it all Lauren demonstates that we can survive without succomming to brutality, carrying with her the seeds of hope.
Additional information
Participants must provide their own copies of the texts and read them ahead of each session.
We would love it if participants were able to attend all three sessions, please book each session individually on Eventbrite, if you are able to do so.
Image credit: cover art for the graphic novel adaptation of Parable of the Sower by John Jennings
Where is it happening?
GBP 0.00
