Introduction
Prompt: What are the two most effective techniques a totalitarian government uses to control its citizens? How does Anthem's government use these two same strategies?
Totalitarian governments are known for complete, absolute control over their citizens' everyday lives. The government uses its power to control the citizens' social lives, religious believes, and political and ethical opinions. Notable historical totalitarian governments include Hitler's Nazi Germany, Stalin's Soviet Union, and Mussolini's Italy. More modern example include China, North Korea, and Iraq.
Much like these styles of government, in Anthem, the World Council (and the other governing bodies) uses similar techniques to maintain control over its citizens. By controlling their citizens, they are able to stay in power.
The purpose of this WebQuest is to examine various sources that discuss strategies of totalitarian governments. Ultimately, you'll be choosing two of these sources to support your answer to the prompt.
Task
1. Read/preview the five articles below.
http://study.com/academy/lesson/totalitarianism-definition-characteristics-examples.html
- (don't watch the video on this source. It will make you pay for viewing it.)
https://www.britannica.com/topic/totalitarianism
https://imrussia.org/en/society/763-totalitarianism-and-freedom-of-speech
http://www.telospress.com/on-genocidal-dictators-and-totalitarian-states/
https://www.sps186.org/downloads/basic/588627/ch30_2.pdf
*If none of the sources work for your argument, and you would like to research another source, make sure I approve of it first.
2. Select 2 of the best articles that would support your working thesis
- Remember, you'll also be pulling in 2 concrete details from Anthem, so make sure your opinion can be supported from the novel, as well.
3. Take notes on the 2 articles using the research form
- Focus your notes on evidence that would support your paper's argument.
- Since we may not have Chromebooks while we write the paper, it is important for these notes to be as detailed and informative as possible.
- Be careful not to unintentionally plagiarize.
4. Generate your citations in MLA format using http://www.easybib.com/ or http://www.citationmachine.net/mla/cite-a-website
- Fill in as much information as possible. Some details (like the author's name, publishing date, or editor's name) might not be listed on the site. Just add as much info as you can.
- Easybib might only allow you to cite one source for free. Then, you might need to switch to citation machine.