Values and Beliefs

The chapter 2 lesson/discussion explores the ways in which personal/societal values and beliefs are used by characters in the novel to further their own ends.

How can interpretation of values and beliefs alter the way in which a society progresses into the future?

Nuclear Holocaust

Perhaps one of the biggest concerns of modern time is the use of nuclear weapons. Movies have been made depicting life after the explosion of an atomic bomb in a major city. World history of the past 75 years records the actual use of and consequences of such weapons.

What do you know about the history of nuclear holocaust? When have nuclear weapons been used? What have the consequences been of nuclear weapons? Some ideas to jog your memory: Hiroshima, Chernobyl, World War II...

(Hint: In this question the word "holocaust" is used to mean trauma, devastation of a serious magnitude NOT as a title for what happened in Germany during the 1940s!)

I, Robot commentary

Please post your general comments, reactions, thoughts about the world represented in the I, Robot selections that you have read for class.

Modern Day Utopias

In reflecting on our discussion in class on utopia and dystopia works (literature, movies, etc.), can you think of any modern day attempts to create utopia? What are the implications? Indications of dystopia?