George Orwell
writer · 3 mentions across 3 readings
In this course
Orwell appears in the course primarily as the theorist of totalitarian surveillance and control—his work on how systems engineer consent and manipulate perception through media and language provides a conceptual backbone for examining contemporary technological governance. The readings invoke him to frame discussions of how power operates through seemingly banal technologies (television, software, metrics) and how systematic demoralization campaigns use rhetorical framing to shape public behavior and acceptance of constraint. His critique of totalitarianism enables analysis of how digital systems and governance frameworks reproduce Orwellian patterns of control, though the citations here are somewhat diffuse and often gestural rather than directly engaged.
Background
Eric Arthur Blair was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to all totalitarianism, and support of democratic socialism.
Wikipedia →Mentioned in 3 readings
Appears alongside
People mentioned in the same passages — sorted by co-occurrence weight.