Upper School Humanities combines the study of Literature, History, Philosophy, Culture and Art History into a three-year integrated double-credit course. Classes meet nine times each week in lectures, small-group discussions, and writing conferences with three to four students.
The courses are reading and writing intensive. Readings for each topic are taken from primary sources, historical scholarship and from literature of or about the period of study. The Humanities program develops higher-order thinking skills by asking students to synthesize concepts and facts from history and to apply them to current situations.
9th Grade—World History
This course begins a chronological study of World History that will last through 11th grade by examining five key elements of society—political, economic, social, religious and artistic/intellectual. Ninth graders study the Ancient World, the Renaissance, the Reformation, Medieval and Baroque eras.
10th Grade—18th & 19th Centuries
Using the framework of the basic elements of society, Humanities 10 continues the study of cultural history with a focus on the 18th and 19th Centuries. Major topics include the French and American Revolutions, U.S. Constitution, the Industrial Revolution, Imperialism, Darwin Marx and Freud and debates on Constitutional issues.
11th Grade—20th Century
Humanities 11 continues the study of the basic elements of society with a focus on the 20th Century. Major topics include World War I, the Depression, Totalitarianism, the Holocaust, World War II, the Cold War, Post Colonialism, and Liberation Movements. This course has both a strong U.S. and global focus.
12th Grade
Seniors work on a political campaign through the November elections. They take two year-long elective seminars in areas such as: Asian Studies, Law & Society, Media Studies, Play, Games & Sports, Religion & Society, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, Writing Seminar. Each course involves the researching, planning and writing of one or more substantial research projects; the subject of the research will fall under the subject category of the class.