34 pages • 1 hour read
Chris HedgesEmpire Of Illusion: The End Of Literacy And The Triumph Of Spectacle
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2009A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Hedges titles Chapter 1 “The Illusion of Literacy” yet focuses primarily on the effects of celebrity culture. What relationship is there between literacy and celebrity culture?
Empire of Illusion ends with a brief note about love’s ability to overcome evil. In what ways does Hedges hint throughout the book that love might reverse the effects of corporate control and abuse?
Along with being a writer, professor, and journalist, Hedges is also a Presbyterian minister. In what ways do you think being a clergyman affects Hedges’ choice of topics and the way he writes about those topics?
Empire of Illusion is split into five chapters, and each chapter addresses a specific illusion that deludes many Americans. Which illusion has the most far-reaching consequences for the health of the American economy or society? Support your answer with examples from the text.
Empire of Illusion outlines many problems facing Americans, but Hedges offers comparatively few solutions. Write an essay in which you develop at least three solutions to any of challenges identified in Empire of Illusion.
Critics have argued that Empire of Illusion, which was published in 2009, predicts some of the trends that contributed to the election of Donald Trump in 2016. To what trends might the critics be referring? Do you agree that Empire of Illusion accurately describes the conditions that resulted in Trump’s election?
In Chapter 4, one advocate of positive psychology argues that the practice of positive thinking must be separated from its questionable use by corporations and militaries. Do you agree with this view? Is positive psychology a tool for individual happiness, or is it merely a method of abuse by corporations?
Do you agree with Hedges’ assessment that educational institutions fail to train students to think critically? Support your response with outside sources and personal experience.
Hedges believes that the humanities and liberal arts are arguably more important than vocational and skills training. Do you agree? Would you rather “learn to think” or learn skills related to a specific job? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?
Select an event, either live or televised, that meets the description of a pseudo-event. In what way did the trivial become significant?
