Masterclass- English Literature- 'Pleasure or Pain? How to Run a Dystopia

University event offered by University of Birmingham

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Short Session

This is a free Masterclass for students in Year 12 and 13. We welcome school group bookings and students can also book to attend as individuals. There is also the option to have a tour of our impressive campus with one of our current students.

Available dates

25th March 2026

Suitable for

Events for School and College Groups (Ages 16-18)
Events for individuals (enquiry not required to be through a school)

Booking Deadline:

11 March 2026

Full event details

Join this interactive lecture which will centre on the debate between Aldous Huxley and George Orwell regarding the methods needed to control people in their respective dystopias: Brave New World (1932), for the pleasure side; and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), for pain. We'll think not only about how Huxley and Orwell very differently imagined socio-political and technological control, but also about how Anglo-American culture has privileged Orwell's vision of the future over Huxley's, and why that privileging matters in today's world.

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Available dates

25th March 2026

Suitable for

Events for School and College Groups (Ages 16-18)
Events for individuals (enquiry not required to be through a school)

University of Birmingham

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