The interdisciplinary lessons of philosophy and the Serbian language and literature as the introduction to studying famous George Orwell’s novel “Animal Farm” were organized at Savremena Gimnazija at the beginning of June.
The Savremena Gimnazija students discussed freedom and human rights
The Savremena Gimnazija teachers pass on knowledge in a truly different way and this time the idea of the two teachers, Zorana Putnikovć, the Serbian Language and Literature teacher, and Marica Đurić, a philosophy teacher, was to establish a connection between philosophical teaching on a community and freedom with the artistic world of the novel “Animal Farm”, with the intention to encourage their students to think of the ideas presented in this dystopian work as a part of a bigger picture. Considering that the novel challenges all our assumptions about a perfect society, the two teachers felt that it would be good to learn what well-known philosophers Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau thought about social communities, and the Savremena Gimnazija students conducted an extremely interesting discussion on their completely different views on a society and exchanged thoughts on whose teaching seem more probable as well as on freedom, human rights and the way they experience these concepts.
Interdisciplinary lessons enable learning in an easier and more interesting way
The concepts of utopia, dystopia and anti-utopia were introduced during these lessons, and their differences were highlighted. Since dystopian novels, series and films have been exceptionally popular over the recent years, the Savremena Gimnazija students successfully connected the ideas of the novel with these plots, observing the similarities and differences. As a part of their lesson, using the application Nearpod on their tablets, students made a survey which introduced the topic on social organization and related issues.
Having made such an introduction to reading the novel, in the following Serbian Language and Literature lessons, the students discussed the very novel “Animal farm” connecting its analysis with what they had learnt in the interdisciplinary lessons. The lesson aim was achieved successfully and the students found these lessons interesting and memorable.
Do view the presentation and step into George Orwell’s intriguing world together with the Savremena Gimnazija students.