Dr. David Childs, Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University
An Educated and Informed Citizenry is One of the Hallmarks of a Successful Democracy
An important component of a successful democracy is to have an informed and educated citizenry. If citizens do not have access to reliable knowledge and the ability to differentiate between valid and invalid information our democracy is destined to fail. It is indeed our ability to read and write and gain information about current issues in society that empowers us. In order for us to make wise choices about our candidates for public office or to make choices about what issues to vote for we must do our research and our “homework.” Along these same lines, as a university professor, I am always encouraging my students to read more. Further, I even tell them that if they do not like to read it is likely because they have not found anything that they find interesting. If they find a topic or genre that interests them they would enjoy reading more. There are many literary genres and categories to choose from including non-fiction, biographies, graphic novels, westerns, mystery novels, historical fiction, science fiction and apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction. As a child who went to an inner city elementary school, I did not always understand the value of literacy and education. However, I had teachers that introduced me to historical fiction and post-apocalyptic fiction. It was from reading novels such as My Brother Sam is Dead By James and Christopher Collier and George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) that I fell in love with reading and education. It is in that spirit I would like to offer some resources and material that students can grab that are related to the COVID19 virus pandemic.
Apocalyptic and Post-apocalyptic Fiction and Media Related to Coronavirus
There is a genre of books called apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction that has always fascinated me. A sub-genre of apocalyptic literature that is related to the current pandemic is dystopian literature. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction defines dystopian works as depicting a negative view of “the way the world is supposedly going in order to provide urgent propaganda for a change in direction.” In the current times in which we are living, my mind has gone back to some of the literature I have read and even films I have seen that try to speak to what life might be like in the not-so-distant future, if some disease or nuclear fall-out scenario gets the best of us. Some people even use biblical language and say some of the content from this genre can be prophetic. Reminiscent of the genre of religious texts known as apocalyptic literature. That is, the scenarios that are playing out in our world today (I.e. the rapid advancement of disease spread throughout the world) are eerily similar to what has been stated or even predicted in some of the ancient literature, as well as modern books and films about the end of days.
Thus, in this article I thought it would be fun to provide resources within the apocalyptic genre that deal with a wide range of subjects and predictions about what the end of days will be like. This post is not meant to scare folks but is an excuse to get us reading more and reflecting more upon our world and our society while many folks around the world are on lock down. What will be our “new normal”? What adjustments will we have to make as Americans? What comforts will we have to give up? What will our lives be like in this new world post pandemic? Will it be similar to scenarios that play out in literature and films? But on a lighter note, what better time to start reading and checking out some classic texts and films than now?
Resources and Lesson Plans
Below I am offering some online resources and lesson materials that teachers can use in language arts, social studies and science classes to help them teach about dystopian concepts, human adaptation to struggle and the rapid spread of diseases in society and people’s reaction to them. Many of the resources below are free (Including full movies in some cases), clickable links that will take the reader right to the material. These are great resources that can keep students engaged, in light of many of them being suddenly home-schooled.
Dystopian Literature
The Stand, by Stephen King (1978)
We chose this book first because there is a surprising similarity between the pandemic in The Stand and the coronavirus outbreak. Some might argue that King is prophetic as this fiction novel seems more realistic today than ever before. However, there are some more sinister differences between the scenario that plays out in King’s novel and today’s reality with COVID19. In The Stand there is a strain of influenza that the government has modified for biological warfare. However, the virus has been accidentally released, which causes a pandemic that wipes out most of the world’s population. We hope and pray that this won’t be the fate of our world today, but this is Stephen King at his finest. He has an uncanny knack for tapping into our deepest fears as humans.
Pale Horse, by Katherine Anne Porter (1939)
Pale Horse is somewhat of a historical novel that is similar to The Stand and the times that we are living in because it also deals with a flu pandemic. The notion of the pale horse is a reference to apocalyptic writings from Revelations 6:8 in the bible. The novel is centered around an actual historic event, namely the Spanish flu pandemic that took the lives of 40-50 million people in 1918. The author Katherine Porter had contracted the flu during the pandemic in her youth and nearly died, which likely influenced her to write the book. The book revolves around romance between the characters Adam and Miranda during the pandemic. Miranda contracts the disease and is cared for by her lover. However, unfortunately, Adam dies from the disease while Miranda survives.
Severance, by Ling Ma (2018)
The novel Severance seems very prophetic as it was written very recently, as in two years ago. The author is a Chinese American and was perhaps inspired by the recent pandemics that have taken place in China as of late. In her book a plague called Shen Fever rapidly spreads and the main character (Candace) who is in the early stages of pregnancy is one of the last survivors to escape the city. She is rescued by a group of survivors led by a tyrannical leader, who live underground. This is a familiar trope and story line, that to me never gets old.
Another novel from the early twentieth century is entitled The Plague, by Albert Camus (1947). Camus’ article is great for social studies and language arts classes as it deals with some larger themes revolving around the best and worst of humanity. The novel centers around a plague that sweeps through the French Algerian city of Oran, and is thought to be based on the cholera epidemic that decimated Oran in 1849. The novel is written in the existentialist tradition. Existentialist literature focuses on human autonomy and a quest to make meaning out of a meaningless world. The novel studies “the human condition and the effects a pandemic of this scale has on a populace.” This text can be really useful in an advanced language arts or social studies classroom, and would be a very timely read in light of the COVID19 epidemic.
And just for fun, for you horror or Walking Dead fans, The Strain trilogy by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro (2009-2011) offers a fresh new take on the vampire myth. The book is about a virus that is carried by silver capillary worms and spreads quickly turning its victims into vampires. The protagonist is an epidemiologist named Dr. Ephraim Goodweather who is bent on finding a cure for the disease, which is spreading like wildfire throughout the world.
Lesson Plans and Resources Using Dystopian Literature
A Dystopian Future- Lesson Plan
Here are some Hunger Game lessons
Hunger Games Lesson Plans
Hunger Games Unit Plan
The Hunger Games Exploring Choice; Fear; Animalistic Instincts; Conformity How do these characteristics change who you are or how you make decisions?
Fahrenheit 451 in Social Studies- Lesson Plan
The Giver- Lesson Plan
Dystopian Literature Unit Plan
Books about epidemic and pandemic diseases
7 chilling fictional books about virus outbreaks you should take a sniff at
Although it is a non-fiction text Outbreak!: 50 Tales of Epidemics that Terrorized the World is a very timely resource in light of the COVID19 pandemic.
I Am Legend (1954)
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1985)
Journal of the Plague Years by Norman Spinrad (1988)
The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman (1989)
Ammonite by Nicola Griffith (1992)
Beauty Salon by Mario Bellatin (1994)
Blindness by José Saramago (1995)
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson (2002)
Pandemics: An Essential Reading List
List of dystopian literature
Two Notable Books Within the Dystopian Genre
Brave New World (1931), by Aldous Huxley
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), by George Orwell
Apocalyptic and Post-apocalyptic Films.
Here is a List of apocalyptic films.
Outbreak
Contagion (2011) Official Exclusive
The Omega Man- 1971- Full Movie
The Omega Man -Trailer
I am Legend
The Book of Eli
The Time Machine By H.G. Wells (Full Movie)
Time Machine (Trailer)
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985) – Movie Trailer
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)- Full Movie
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)- Trailer
The Matrix
The Faculty
The Maze Runner
War of the Worlds (1953) Classic
“The War Of The Worlds” [1953] HD Stereo Sampler
The Last Man on Earth (1964)
Night of the Living Dead (1964)- Full Movie
Night of the Living Dead- Trailer
Conclusion
As I stated earlier, this article is not to invoke fear in people, but books and material like what we have discussed can give us insight into the human experience and perhaps give us some directives on how to respond to tragedies such the coronavirus pandemic and other human struggles that will come our way in the future on both a micro and macro level.
Discussion Questions
1. What are themes from the literature and films that speak to the current COVID19 pandemic?
2. Discuss ways you might be able to use select dystopian films or literature in your social studies and language arts courses in a meaningful way?
3. If you have used some of this material in your class or even encountered the resources in your middle or high school experience how did you engage the material? As a teacher how did you use the material?
This article got me thinking about pandemics in literature and then my mind jumped to video games. There was a famous incident in World of Warcraft in 2005 where a bug caused a modifier to spread outside it’s intended raid zone and into the cities. If you want to read about it, it was called the Corrupted Blood incident. The modifier could kill low level players. It caused players to leave the cities and flee to the countryside. Epidemiologists actually studied the incident to understand real world implications. One of the most interesting things was that some players acted as griefers and intentionally spread the disease. This was not considered realistic as a real-life response. It was assumed people would work together to try and limit the spread of the bug. The story has some very interesting parallels to the responses happening today.
I have read many apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction based books, but at the time you don’t necessarily think, “what would happen if these events actually occurred?”, while you are reading. With the COVID19 Pandemic happening right now, it puts into perspective that life can change in an instant. Having these resources not only let’s your imagination run wild, but also prepares you with knowledge you’ll potentially need if something like this were to happen again. It also shows that you can find valuable knowledge anywhere if you look closely enough, even in fiction.
I really enjoyed this article and even shared it with one of my roommates. We have spent a lot of time since being at home looking into conspiracy theories and looking into predictions of COVID-19. We do this to add some fun to the pandemic and keep from only hearing the negative things. This gives us some things to read and watch so that we can continue our quest to be entertained in the house. We take information from reliable sources when we need to, but adding this mystery is making it a little more fun.
As the article states “An important component of a successful democracy is to have an informed and educated citizen”. I cannot agree with that statement more. I think this is true to so many circumstances because when we as people are informed, we are more reliable and competent to make tough decisions if need be. If people are uninformed or miseducated they make rash, ill thought out, and panic-stricken decisions that can ultimately cause more harm than good. People are doing that right now, we are seeing it all over with people hoarding groceries, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies. This is because people are acting out of fear and they are not sure of what is really happening or how to handle it because people in our time have not dealt with anything like this in person, ever before. It is not to say that these people are purposefully ignorant, just that sometimes people act out of fear when they have no other option.
That is why it is so important to have relatable resources to unprecedented events, such as the one we are currently facing. Some of these books are far fetched fantasies and situations that may never really come true, but they have an underlining element of relatability. They also do make us question, what would we do if we faced something like this? As teachers we can use them to show students how things out of the ordinary may unfold, and while they may not always be currently realistic, how we might live through situations like them.
I think it is important for people to think of outlandish things because it opens us up to that education, so we are not in as much of a full-blown panic. I think we can use these resources to help get us through times like this because they can give off a sense of comfort and knowing that we can and will make it through this. Lastly, I enjoyed all of the lesson plan ideas too because they can be a great alternative for homeschool instruction because not every parent is a teacher and knows how to teach their child in accordance to state standards and lesson plan objectives. Sources like this can really help parents and also give them that relatable content to relay to their children at the same time.
No matter who you are, where you live, or what career you have, you are currently being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in one way or another. I read this article in hopes of educating myself on the very real and ongoing impact that this virus is having on our lives. The terms epidemic and pandemic have been mentioned before in my life, but I don’t feel as if I have ever taken the time to educate myself on the difference between the terms and what the terms mean. I learned through reading this article that the reason that the COVID-19 virus has been labeled as a pandemic is due to the fact that it has had an impact on almost the entire world. This pandemic is not something that will soon be forgotten. This time period in our history will be talked about for generations to come. As a future educator the impact that this virus has had on the public school systems and students all around the country will be something that is not soon forgotten. The power of educators and education has been brought to light through this virus with the task of educating students being put on the back of their parents or guardians. My hope is that in the coming years that this pandemic will be a topic that is discussed in my classroom and our country in the past tense. The impact that this virus has had and will continue to have on our way of life is devastating. Despite the hardships we must stay strong, educated, aware, and AT HOME to stop the spread and beat this virus.
This article really puts this into perspective. For years to come, we will be using this in classrooms. The kids who weren’t even born for 911, will have this to look back on. This article is incredibly helpful for connecting history and literature to current events. These different books are also awesome ways to get students to critically think about their surroundings and their citizenship and what that means. Literature can be an awesome gateway into opening up different doorways of thought, rather than piggybacking off of others.
This article is such a great perspective to take on the current situation with COVID-19. I agree, it can be very difficult to ensure you are informing yourself of accurate information. Reading, and then re-reading, from multiple sources is always the best way to see that you are receiving all of the facts. With that said, I really love what you have done with this unfortunate circumstance and created a unique learning opportunity! I believe it would be really fun for students, too, to read and learn about dystopian societies and what they can look like. While I do understand this may scare certain students or parents, I think it would be best for teachers to acknowledge to their students what is going on in the world and why an online platform is necessary, rather than just moving on with the class. I look forward to using all of the resources you have included in this article! Thanks for the time and consideration you put into writing this.
I really enjoyed reading this article just for the fact that we have so many questions about how this virus will effect us in the future. Ever since this pandemic has started, my thoughts have ran back and forth from disbelief to what is going to happen to us in the future. I like how you brought good reads into the article that will not only help us stay busy while we are at home, but could potentially help us think of future solutions to the problems we will face during and after this pandemic. I definitely want to read the book “Pale Horse” by Katherine Anne Porter! This book really caught my eye because it talks about the Spanish Flu, which I have heard a lot of people talk about how the Coronavirus is comparable to the Spanish Flu. I also like how the book uses apocalyptic ideas from Revelations 6:8 from the Bible. Lastly, I am HUGE fan of romance stories and movies so overall, I think I could really enjoy this book and plan on reading it very soon! Thank you for the resources and recommendations that we can use during this time, I find them to be very useful and very interesting!
First of all, I love to read any sort of Realistic Fiction/ Historical Fiction as a tool for understanding the world we live in. Throughout my life, I am drawn to conspiracy theories and eeriness of our world. I thoroughly enjoy seeing and learning about past Pandemics in the face of understanding the world we currently live in. I am thankful for the access to information that we have and that even weeks ago we were able to know about something happening in China and now it is here. I will say I was surprised about the rapid spread and how quickly things were able to change to affect the way every American is living in the present. I am curious about how we can explain these ideas to students to make them more aware of the impact. I’m thankful that A Brave New World made a feature in this post, it’s interesting how ideas from years ago can continue to make an impact to our present world. I am most interested in Severance and will be reading it soon. Thanks for sharing!
These are excellent suggestions for people stuck at home during the corona virus outbreak. I noticed last night on Netflix that 8 of the top 10 most viewed programs for the day were related to viruses or quarantines of some sort, so there is definitely a lot of interest and curiosity in the subject right now.
In the realm of video gaming, I would suggest Plague Inc.: Evolved. In this game you choose from a number of outbreak types (bacterial, virus, prions, and even some science fiction types like zombies and vampires) and then try to infect the entire world. It’s actually a really good way to learn about how viruses spread, since you need to tailor your virus to be able to infect large populations and transmit in a variety of ways. Meanwhile, the world responds in ways that will be familiar to us dealing with corona virus – quarantines, curfews, and even more dramatic steps as your virus progresses. It’s one of a very small number of games that I would say have enough educational value to be worth trying to use in a classroom.