Margaret Atwood and Ash Sarkar on Activism
Fresh from her joint Booker win, in October 2019, Margaret Atwood and Ash Sarkar visited a college in Salford to discuss resistance, activism, and the literary legacy of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments.
Resources
Age: Key Stages 3 ā 5
Subject: PSHE
Topic: Resistance and activism
The following activities give KS3-5 students the opportunity to identify and discuss what is meant by resistance or resistance movements; examples of such movements as well as the actions they may take; as well as studentsā personal feelings about resistance and political action. The following activities can be used as standalone activities, or used together with the starter and plenary to form a complete lesson (approx. 1 hour 30 mins in total).
Learning Objectives:
- What do we mean by resistance?
- How do people āresistā?
- Would you āresistā?
Download resources
Activity one
Margaret Atwood explains why young people are often active during resistance movements and which movements young people are active in today.
Activity two
Margaret Atwood and Ash Sarkar discuss participating in Extinction Rebellion and whether there is an age limit on joining the movement.
Activity three
Margaret Atwood and Ash Sarkar reflect on whether they would join a resistance movement in a scenario like Gilead, the setting of ‘The Handmaidās Tale’.