English 10 and World History

Prerequisite: Humanities I 

English and World History

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.
Prerequisite: Humanities I 

American Literature and U.S. History

Prerequisite: Humanities II

The overarching goal of the course is the interdisciplinary study of the people, events, and literature that have shaped the nation in which we live today. We take a chronological approach to the history, pausing to read fiction and other primary documents to fill out our understanding of each time period. Students write a series of interdisciplinary essays throughout the year, culminating with a final reflective essay where they attempt to locate themselves and their own personal philosophies within the scope of the history and literature they have read. The analytical thinking, writing, and reading skills that students develop will equip them for college and lifelong learning. In addition, students learn that language is a tool they can use to argue, persuade, describe, define, and refute.

AS American Literature and U.S. History

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.
Prerequisite: Humanities II

The overarching goal of the course is the interdisciplinary study of the people, events, and literature that have shaped the nation in which we live today. We take a chronological approach to the history, pausing to read fiction and other primary documents to fill out our understanding of each time period. Students write a series of interdisciplinary essays throughout the year, culminating with a final reflective essay where they attempt to locate themselves and their own personal philosophies within the scope of the history and literature they have read. The analytical thinking, writing, and reading skills that students develop will equip them for college and lifelong learning. In addition, students learn that language is a tool they can use to argue, persuade, describe, define, and refute.

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.

Hate gets a lot of press these days, from hate on a global scale in the form of extremism and structural racism to hate on a personal scale in the form of anger, judgment, and interpersonal rifts. This course seeks to provide an antidote; we will dedicate ourselves to an academic and experiential study of the flipside of hate: love. We’ll start by reading texts that explore the intricacies of interpersonal relationships: romantic love, familial love, love between friends. Then we’ll zoom out to look at love as a radical way of being in the world and a root of social movements for change. We’ll read segments from different philosophers’ takes on love, from Aristotle to Judith Butler, in conversation with the literature we’re reading and our own lived experiences. The course will culminate with the creation of your own manifesto or narrative of love in the form of fiction or nonfiction writing, poetry, film, podcast, zine, or multimedia project. Possible texts include Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (plus various modern film adaptations), Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts, Hua Hsu’s Stay True, bell hooks’ All About Love, and essays and short stories from Valarie Kaur, Jhumpa Lahiri, Alexander Chee, and The New York Times’ “Modern Love” column.

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.

During every era of American history there have been subversive people, groups, and ideas bubbling below the dominant normative culture. Through creative ways of living, thinking, and being, these nonconformists challenge assumptions about what is “normal” in American society and push the boundaries of what is considered “right,” “appropriate,” and “productive.” In doing so, countercultures challenge assumptions about what America is, should be, and can be. Often demonized by those in power as eccentric, deviant, radical, and/or dangerous, countercultures nonetheless creep their way into the mainstream, leaving an indelible mark on American history, culture, institutions, and identity. In this course, we will look at the ways in which countercultural ideas move from the fringe to the core and the impact this has on both the countercultural movements themselves and America more broadly. We will read a wide range of texts covering diverse countercultures from the Shakers and Transcendentalists of the 18th and 19th centuries to the Beats, Hippies, Anarchists, and Punks of the 20th and 21st centuries. Students will also explore these movements through art, music, and film as they turn their attention to an identification and analysis of countercultural movements at work in America today.

This course is offered in the 2022-23 school year. 

Often popularized as the swashbuckling pursuit of long-lost treasures and civilizations, in actuality, archaeology is the exploration of how people make things and how things “make” people, as the materials and objects we create, use, wear, and consume shape who we are as individuals and a community. Through the careful examination of artifacts and other physical remains, archaeologists piece together the mysteries of the past and uncover dynamic stories about human experiences that unveil new connections and insights, rewrite history, and challenge dominant narratives about both the past and presents. Using archaeological case studies from across North America and spanning the last 15,000 years, we’ll examine a wide range of issues and questions facing the field of archaeology today, such as how and when the “New World'' was populated, how Native peoples resisted colonial regimes, and how materials become entangled in the definition and performance of identities and social categories. We’ll also look at how an archaeological perspective can provide critical insights into some of our most pressing contemporary issues such as rising inequality, culture contact and change, the rise and fall of civilizations, and the environmental impacts of human activity. Students should be ready to get their hands dirty, both literally and metaphorically, as they “dig into” important archaeological sites in our own backyard and explore the material histories of our local communities, the legacies of the past, the role of archaeology as a political and social tool in the present, and the ways materials frame our own identities and understandings of the world.

This class is structured as a critical conversation between the (largely Western) art historical cannon and more contemporary artists, movements, and works of art. The class studies pieces that exemplify each period and practices detailed visual readings in order to better understand the function of these works within their cultural context. Major artistic trends, artists, art works, and techniques are discussed as well as the historical and philosophical settings of each period. Students will be expected to visit a Bay Area museum on their own as part of this course.

This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the history, geography, art, music, and literature of the African continent. By studying the developments on the continent within their local, national, and global contexts, this course aims to dispel the stereotypes and distorted views generally held about Africa and to increase the awareness and understanding of the major challenges that Africa is facing today. Students also spend considerable time appreciating and analyzing African folktales, epics, and myths as well as published literature. These works are always examined within a historical and cultural context. For the Advanced Studies course there is a research component in which students have to find primary sources for discussion and analysis.

This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the history, geography, art, music, and literature of the African continent. By studying the developments on the continent within their local, national, and global contexts, this course aims to dispel the stereotypes and distorted views generally held about Africa and to increase the awareness and understanding of the major challenges that Africa is facing today. Students also spend considerable time appreciating and analyzing African music.

In this course we become familiar with the history and literature largely from sub-Saharan Africa. We focus on three different periods in the history of sub-Saharan Africa: the rise of the Bantu civilization and the subsequent colonization of Central and South Africa; the colonization of Africa by European nations; and postcolonial, modern Africa. While we cannot possibly cover the individual histories and literatures of every nation, we spend time on quite a few, going in depth into the case studies of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia. Students learn how ancient histories have been constructed using linguistic evidence as we trace the Bantu colonization of Central and South Africa from West Africa. We examine epics, oral and written, and discuss how the plots and narrative techniques support and contest, as well as exalt and undermine, tribal authority. Students study the colonial perspective on Africa with an understanding of the Orientalist context in which various histories and colonial narratives were produced. Students read revolutionary literature, celebrating the resistance of colonial and imperialist powers and the ultimate arrival at independence, but they will also understand that many of the struggles endured during the colonial and imperialist era are ongoing with far-reaching consequences.

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.
Prerequisites: Humanities I and II, A in current humanities course, departmental approval

Brown v. Board of Education. Roe v. Wade. New York Times v. Sullivan. Many students have heard of these landmark Supreme Court cases. But what exactly did the Court decide, how did the Court reach these decisions, and what are the implications of these decisions for us, individually and as a nation - especially during these very volatile political times? In this intensive introduction to American constitutional law, students read these and other famous cases in an effort to answer these often difficult, yet fascinating questions. The focus is largely on those provisions of the United States Constitution designed to protect individual liberties, namely the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Speech and Religion Clauses of the First Amendment. In addition to actual Court opinions, students are assigned supplemental readings from noted constitutional law scholars and practitioners. There will also be guest speakers and a field trip to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Prerequisites: A- or above  in current Humanities course and departmental approval

Brown v. Board of Education. Roe v. Wade. New York Times v. Sullivan. Many students have heard of these landmark Supreme Court cases. But what exactly did the Court decide, how did the Court reach these decisions, and what are the implications of these decisions for us, individually and as a nation - especially during these very volatile political times? In this intensive introduction to American constitutional law, students read these and other famous cases in an effort to answer these often difficult, yet fascinating questions. The focus is largely on those provisions of the United States Constitution designed to protect individual liberties, namely the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Speech and Religion Clauses of the First Amendment. In addition to actual Court opinions, students are assigned supplemental readings from noted constitutional law scholars and practitioners. There will also be guest speakers and a field trip to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Prerequisite: A- or above  in current Humanities course and departmental approval

An introduction to the landmark achievements of the Western European and Ancient Roman intellectual traditions, Ancient Epics - West is a course that examines ancient history, philosophy, and literature from around the world. Designed as a semester-long course that can be taken together with Ancient Epics - East or independently, students will gain a strong foundation in classical texts and see classical and medieval influences taken up and transformed in the Renaissance and Modern eras. Lectures and discussions investigate a wide range of issues and stimulate plural perspectives. They are enhanced by trips to museums, plays, concerts and art galleries both on campus and in the Bay Area. The Western canon will explore epic literature from the Christian and Islamic worlds and features Ancient Roman epics including Virgil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, classic Eastern-Western tales such as The Arabian Nights and Aladdin, The Book of Dede Korkut from the Ottoman Empire, and the Alexandrian epic The Voyage of the Argo.

Prerequisite: A- or above  in current Humanities course and departmental approval

An introduction to the landmark achievements of the East-Asian, and African intellectual traditions, Ancient Epics - East is a course that examines ancient history, philosophy, and literature from around the world. Designed as a semester-long course that can be taken with Ancient Epics - West or independently, students will gain a strong foundation in classical texts and see classical and medieval influences taken up and transformed in the Renaissance and Modern eras. Lectures and discussions investigate a wide range of issues and stimulate plural perspectives. They are enhanced by trips to museums, plays, concerts and art galleries both on campus and in the Bay Area. The Eastern canon will feature the great Hindu epics, The Ramayana and The Mahabharata, epics from the Far East such as The Water Margin, The Three Kingdoms, Kojiki, and The Tale of the Heike, epics from the Middle East  such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Enuma Elish , and The Shahnameh, and epics from Western and Central Africa, including The Sundiata, The Lianja Epic, and The Mwindo Epic.

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.
Prerequisite: A in current Humanities course

This class introduces students to Western art from a historical perspective, focusing on sculpture, architecture, and painting. The class studies pieces that exemplify each period and practices detailed visual readings in order to better understand the function of this works within their cultural context. Major artistic trends, artists, art works, and techniques from each period are discussed as well as the historical and philosophical settings of each period.

Frankenstein. Miss Havisham. Lady Macbeth. Heathcliff. Hamlet. Elizabeth Bennet. Sherlock Holmes. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Some of the most memorable characters in all of literature live in the poetry and fiction of England. In this course, we’ll consider how literature’s most iconic characters grappled with some of the same questions we face today. What is love, and how do we find it? What happens when a leader’s personal ambition threatens the good of a community? How does new technology change our lives, and do we control it, or does it control us? What is the role of intense, irrational emotion in a world of reason and practicality? You’ll gain confidence and independence making sense of challenging texts, and you’ll write analytically, creatively, and in timed settings. Possible texts include Shakespeare’s Macbeth; the Romantic poetry of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, and Byron; Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice; Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights; and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway.

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.
Prerequisites: Humanities I and II, A in current humanities course, departmental approval

This course is offered in the 2021-22 school year.
Prerequisites: Humanities I and II; A in current humanities course, departmental approval

This course on the history of world religions includes an overview of the tenets of five major religious/philosophic traditions. Close reading is emphasized as students are asked to read scripture and commentary from the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism (Mahayana, Theravada, and Vajrayana traditions), Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Students will examine how these religions evolved alongside major historical periods of time within the Middle East including the Neolithic Era, the Bronze and Iron Ages, and the Axial Ages within both the Middle East and South Asia. We will analyze and evaluate a wide range of different kinds of historical evidence ranging from ritual practices to written scripture in the Middle East, Africa, and South and East Asia looking at how cultural responses were contingent upon and in some cases determined by different historical advents such as agriculture, metallurgy, and the rise of the marketplace. We will also look at the impact that different geographic environments and the resources within those environments, focusing especially on river valleys (where Hinduism and Buddhism originated) versus deserts (where Judaism and Islam originated), had on shaping the way that different faiths arose. Therefore we will be examining different and in some cases conflicting sets of evidence that have been treated as causes -- social, political, economic, and environmental -- for the rise of different and similar faiths and religious practices. We will also examine how these religions, once founded, were reinterpreted through the millenniums, examining historical moments such as the Golden Age of Hinduism, the Council of Nicaea, the Ottoman Empire, and the Protestant Revolution. In these later units we will look at how changing political institutions such as caste, tribe, state, empire, and nation influence and are influenced by different ideological faiths. Finally, the student will look at the religious climate in the world today, asking the question, "What is the role/place of religion in the modern world?"

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.

Leo Tolstoy famously wrote, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” In this course, we’ll meet and get to know families in literature that grapple with the inevitable unhappinesses of family life in ways both heroic and human. Through examining these stories, we’ll also seek to discover the unique beauty, connection, and humor that can be found only through family. In addition to reading about and discussing fictional families, students will reflect on their own notions of family through personal writing, interviews with family members and friends, and the creation of their own cultural genogram – a family tree that allows the maker to better understand their own cultural and familial identity. Possible texts include Ben Lerner’s The Topeka School, Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Toni Morrison’s Sula, Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland’s film Quinceañera, and short fiction and essays by Louise Erdrich, Kazuo Ishiguro, Emma Cline, T Kira Madden, Patricia Lockwood, and Viet Thanh Nguyen.

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.
Prerequisites: Humanities I and II, A in current humanities course, departmental approval

In this course we’ll read plays, stories, and novels that engage with big philosophical questions such as: What is the line between human and non-human? What is the line between life and machine? What can and can’t be sacrificed for the greater good? To what extent are we actually free? How do we know we are actually real? And what do we mean by real? How do we determine what is just, what is true, and what is valuable? What is the ideal balance of security and freedom?

This course is offered in the 2022-23 school year.
Prerequisite: A in Humanities II or III and teacher recommendation.

In 1994, the preeminent literary critic Harold Bloom published a book ambitiously titled The Western Canon. Since its publication, there has been a great deal of debate about which works were included and whether or not there is even such a thing as a Western Canon. In this class we will examine the notion of there being a canon, and whose voices shape and determine it. Undoubtedly, there have been a disproportionate number of white men (Shakespeare, Dante, Chaucer) who have been considered central to this construct, and, indeed, we will examine some of these texts and why they are celebrated as being central to both Western and World Literature. Along the way, however, we will also examine voices from the margins that complicate, critique, and question these texts. For example, when we read a text like Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, we will pair this with a text by Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe, who wrote Things Fall Apart in response to Conrad’s imperialist construction of Central Africa. Other writers and poets that “deliberately disrupt” the canon might include but are not limited to Jorge Luis Borges, Jean Rhys, and Salman Rushdie. This course will include a special unit on poetry, and it will examine and engage with several schools of literary criticism

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.

The closest thing we have to a time machine, historical research allows you to transport and immerse yourself in the details of an entirely different time and place. Far from rote memorization of people, places, and dates, “doing history” is a journey into the unknown where opportunities for discovery are endless. Questions and clues lead to dusty libraries, damp archives, and the deep recesses of the inter-webs where new findings can illuminate our understanding of both the past and the present. Using California as our geographic boundary of inquiry, students in this class will take a deep dive into the full gamut of historical research, from developing research questions to identifying sources, navigating archives, reading historical sources critically, and building data-driven arguments in support of an original idea. The culminating project will be an intensive research essay where students use the skills they’ve developed in the course to explore an original historical question or issue. The course will include a visit to a local historical archive.

Prerequisites: A- or above  in current Humanities course and departmental approval

The closest thing we have to a time machine, historical research allows you to transport and immerse yourself in the details of an entirely different time and place. Far from rote memorization of people, places, and dates, “doing history” is a journey into the unknown where opportunities for discovery are endless. Questions and clues lead to dusty libraries, damp archives, and the deep recesses of the inter-webs where new findings can illuminate our understanding of both the past and the present. Using California as our geographic boundary of inquiry, students in this class will take a deep dive into the full gamut of historical research, from developing research questions to identifying sources, navigating archives, reading historical sources critically, and building data-driven arguments in support of an original idea. The culminating project will be an intensive research essay where students use the skills they’ve developed in the course to explore an original historical question or issue. The course will include a visit to a local historical archive.

Prerequisite: A- or above  in current Humanities course and departmental approval

In this course, students read literature about murderers—some of them fictional, some of them real. We’ll examine the relationships between the murderers’ life circumstances, their motives, methods, and madnesses, their crimes, their consciences, and their punishments. Class members will pay special attention to their own moral compasses as they read. We’ll analyze ways in which literature manipulates and cajoles us, sometimes causing us to sympathize with and even root for protagonists whose behaviors we find (or want to find) morally reprehensible. Throughout the semester, we’ll explore criminal behavior through the lens of the free will vs. determinism debate. Students will wrestle with questions about the degree of control that people have over their actions and the implications that their conclusions might have on their ideas of guilt, blame, and appropriate punishment.

Prerequisites: A- or above  in current Humanities course and departmental approval

Is there such a thing as a non-material substance? Is science the only path to knowledge? What gives our self continuity over time? What would happen if we were able to prove the existence of God? What is the relationship between the brain and consciousness? How can we know what the universe would really look like independent of our perceptions? Does life have a purpose? How should we conceive of death? If everything has a cause, how can actions be free? In this course, students will read about key ideas in various fields of philosophy. Topics may include epistemology, metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of science, moral philosophy, political philosophy, and the philosophy of religion. In class, students will be assigned to teach their peers small portions of the material each day, they will assess their mastery of the content with frequent quizzes, and they'll generate their own philosophies in written reflections.

This course is offered in the 2022-23 school year.
Prerequisites: Humanities I and II, A in current humanities course, departmental approval

Although Europe comprises only around 8% of the world's landmass, by 1914, it had colonized more than 80% of the globe. In this advanced, interdisciplinary course, we will seek to understand colonialism not just as a historical event, but as a framework that still shapes our contemporary world. Postcolonialism is a crucial area of study for students interested in issues of colonialism and racism, and the ways in which education has been complicit with colonial aspirations. Through the works of theorists including Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, Frantz Fanon, and Homi Bhabha, we will explore how global conditions are influenced and partly determined by the impact of colonial rule. We will cover the history of settlerism, colonialism, and imperialism in various regions of the world, as well as consider current neo-colonial control through powerful corporations, global institutions, and military might. Using theory and literature, we will also explore decolonial feminism and the development of intersectional and transnational frameworks for resistance. Literary works may include Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, and A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid. These texts will allow us to discuss contemporary movements against racism and imperialism, and the resources that postcolonial theory can provide us.

This course is offered in the 2022-23 school year.

Every year hundreds of books are challenged or banned from schools and libraries across the country. Books are challenged for a variety of reasons, but often the challenges center around issues of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or anything deemed "obscene" by a particular group. But, what is obscenity and who defines it? In this course, we will read and analyze novels from the American Library Association's lists of banned and challenged books and delve into the political and social contexts of each novel. We'll start with analysis and the historical context of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, the first book to be subject to a national ban because of its anti-slavery narrative. Then we will delve into literary classics such as The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, as well as more modern works like Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi and The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth.

This course uses thought experiments as springboards into various lines of philosophical inquiry. Some topics covered will be personal identity, moral responsibility, consciousness, epistemology, paradoxes, and the meaning of life. Students will write frequent reflections, learn key philosophical concepts, and participate in discussions.

In this course, we'll explore the craft of creative nonfiction writing. You'll learn how to tell your life stories and share your wisdom in a way that really sounds like you and connects deeply with your reader. You'll learn how to see your life experiences through new eyes in your efforts to capture them on the page. You'll share your writing with others and learn how to give and receive feedback that will really make your writing better. You'll read creative nonfiction by a range of different contemporary writers, engage in short, approachable generative writing exercises, and ultimately develop, workshop, and revise an original personal essay. If you view yourself as a writer, you'll hone your craft here. If you lack writing confidence, you'll learn how to tell the stories only you can tell, and maybe find some confidence along the way.

This course is offered in the 2020-21 school year.

Before #metoo there was Anita Hill. Before Michael Brown and Ferguson there was Rodney King and L.A. Before gay marriage, there was Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. The 90’s may be culturally known for The Simpsons and the Spice Girls, but the momentous social, economic, and cultural changes America grappled with during that decade reverberate even to this day. To better understand our current political landscape, students will immerse themselves in racial and gender issues that emerged two decades prior, studying everything from the OJ Simpson trial and the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal to Columbine and 9/11. Come explore the music, the fashion, the literature, and the politics that made the 90’s one of the most intense and memorable decades in American history.

With breaking news as our daily guide, students in this course will read, analyze and discuss current events with an eye to historical context, cultural relevance, and global interconnection. As such, students will be better informed of pressing matters, elevate their media literacy skills, and be the life of any dinner party.

This course is a thought-provoking exploration of ethical reasoning and decision-making. It will provide an introduction to the key concepts, theories, and debates within the field of ethics, fostering an understanding of the ethical challenges that individuals and societies encounter. Through readings, case studies, discussions, and ethical analyses, students will develop a foundation in ethical reasoning and acquire the skills necessary to navigate complex moral landscapes. This course invites students to engage critically with ethical questions and encourages the development of a thoughtful and informed approach to ethical decision-making in both personal and professional contexts.

This class will explore the cultural fabric of post-WWII America through the prism of music--Rock ‘N Roll music. We will begin with its country and blues roots, then track the rise of rock through the corporate 50s, the social turmoil of the 60s, the Punk movement of the 70s, whatever the heck the 80s was, and beyond to grunge, hip hop, and other interpretations of the genre. On a deeper level, we will look at the interrelated issues of art, business, politics, race, and gender that continue to define both Rock ‘N Roll and the American experience.

In this elective we will learn about the artists, writers, composers, and visionaries who crested and continue to define the American Musical genre. Beginning with foundational shows such as Showboat and Oklahoma, students will explore how musical theatre integrated song and dance, and pushed the cultural conversations around feminism, racism, xenophobia, and inclusion. Students will study everything from Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton to understand how this genre continues to reflect shifts and changes within American culture. This course will also involve seeing an SF Broadway musical.

This course is offered in the 2022-23 school year. 

In 1936, the Carnegie Foundation conducted a comprehensive study of African Americans. While a vast search of scholars was conducted, and while preeminent thinkers and writers such as Zora Neale Hurston and W.E.B. Du Bois were ready and willing, not a single African American was considered to conduct the study for the reason that Black scholars would be too subjective and biased to study their own people. The fact that white people conducting studies on other white people was not seen as a problem demonstrates how whiteness and objectivity are often conflated together. This class will examine the racist underpinnings of contradictions such as this through European and American History. We will examine the economic and social policies that ensured and protected white supremacy and how they were reinforced and justified with racist thought beginning with the shift from white slavery to Black slavery in the Middle Ages and Renaissance (the word “slave” comes from the frequent enslavement of the Slavic people), the settling of North America by Europeans, the rise of European Imperialism, the build up to  Nazi Germany, and the post World War II emergence of the U.S. as the leader of the free world. While in core humanities classes you may have studied social constructs such as race, class, and gender and how they may function in intersectional ways, this class will examine other concepts such as privilege and caste as alternative lenses through which to view Europe and America, past and present, ultimately revealing the contradictions and fallacies of whiteness’ claims to anything objective or universal. We will read seminal works by scholars such as Nell Irvin Painter, Ibram X. Kendi, Hannah Arendt, and others.

Fear is a primal human emotion. And yet, what scares us, both as individuals and as a collective, varies widely across time and space. What is considered  dark, dreadful, or disgusting at any one moment, therefore, tells us more about ourselves than it does about the monsters and machete-wielding maniacs that make our skin crawl. By exploring the taboo and very fringes of what is tolerable or appropriate, horror pushes the boundaries of literature and cinema, forcing us to continuously ask, “who are the real monsters and why do they haunt us?” By examining select texts from the Romantic to the contemporary period, we will explore both the development of horror as a genre and its value as a lens on history and society. Are you brave enough to face your fears?

This course delves into the fundamental principles, historical contexts, contemporary issues, and global significance of human rights. Students will examine the evolution of human rights concepts, exploring the philosophical, legal, and cultural underpinnings that shape our understanding of human dignity and equality. Throughout the course, students will engage in critical analysis of case studies, international treaties, and real-world events to deepen their understanding of human rights violations and advocacy efforts.

This course provides students with an introduction to the study of international relations. Students will examine the various ways in which nation-states, international organizations, and non-state actors interact with each other to create the present-day political world. A major conflict addressed in the course is between the forces of globalization and those of sovereign nation-states, still relevant and still powerful long after their emergence in the 1600s. Always in the background are the pressing global crises demanding the world's attention—climate change, access to fresh water, pandemic diseases, poverty, hunger, war and nuclear weapons, terrorism, trade, international law and human rights. Students in this course will discuss and analyze how the world's nations, organizations, and people can work together to solve these world-spanning problems, even while contending with their own needs, aims, and strategic goals.

Do the Inuit really have 53 words for snow, and what would it mean if they did? Is the fact that their language only has a present tense the reason a particular Amazon community has proven so resistant to Christian missionaries? In this course you will explore the relationship between language and culture, read key texts in the fields of Anthropology and Linguistics and even conduct your own field work to answer your own question about the way language operates in our community.

Dive into the dynamic world of policy debate with our Intro to Debate class! This exciting course is your gateway to mastering the high-energy, 2v2 debate format where teams clash over potential U.S. federal legislation changes. Perfect for sharpening your critical thinking skills, policy debate is known for its fast pace and objective analysis. You'll get hands-on with the essentials: crafting solid arguments, honing research techniques, boosting your confidence and persuasion, taking quality notes, and tuning your listening to laser focus. Each year brings a fresh topic, and next up is the riveting realm of intellectual property rights. This course is designed as the onboarding course for our nationally competitive Policy Debate team. All students interested in joining the team should sign up for the class, but joining the team is not a requirement to take the class.

Dive into the dynamic world of policy debate with our Intro to Debate class! This exciting course is your gateway to mastering the high-energy, 2v2 debate format where teams clash over potential U.S. federal legislation changes. Perfect for sharpening your critical thinking skills, policy debate is known for its fast pace and objective analysis. You'll get hands-on with the essentials: crafting solid arguments, honing research techniques, boosting your confidence and persuasion, taking quality notes, and tuning your listening to laser focus. Each year brings a fresh topic, and next up is the riveting realm of intellectual property rights. This course is designed as the onboarding course for our nationally competitive Policy Debate team. All students interested in joining the team should sign up for the class, but joining the team is not a requirement to take the class.

Find your voice and own the stage in our speech class, tailor-made for anyone eager to express themselves creatively. Whether you're into illuminating speeches on pressing issues, weaving words into poetry, cracking up the crowd with humor, or advocating for change, this class is your springboard. We guide you from sparking your passion to crafting and performing your piece, all while keeping it fresh and engaging. You're not just picking from a menu of speech events; you're choosing your path to the spotlight. Plus, the work you do will be used to compete in a local competition, offering a platform to showcase your skills beyond the classroom. If you're keen to express yourself and maybe even compete, this is your starting line.

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year. 

In this course, students read novels, stories, and plays about murderers—some of them fictional, some of them real. We’ll examine the relationships between the murderers’ life circumstances, their motives, methods, and madnesses, their crimes, their consciences, and their punishments. Class members will pay special attention to their own moral compasses as they read. We’ll analyze ways in which literature manipulates and cajoles us, sometimes causing us to sympathize with and even root for protagonists whose behaviors we find (or want to find) morally reprehensible. Throughout the semester, we’ll explore criminal behavior through the lens of the free will vs. determinism debate. Students will wrestle with questions about the degree of control that people have over their actions and the implications that their conclusions might have on their ideas of guilt, blame, and appropriate punishment.

Prerequisite: Humanities I 

This class explores the vital relationship between American literature and environmental values, asking how changing literary interpretations of the land have influenced attitudes toward nonhuman nature. The course addresses such questions as why American authors have been so consistently concerned with and inspired by the idea of wilderness. How did our culture move from the Puritan notion of wilderness as a mortal threat, to the Transcendentalist vision of divine nature? Where do contemporary nature writers' concerns with imperiled ecosystems fit into the genre? Finally, what literary interpretations of nature will be likely in the future?

This course is offered in the 2022-23 school year.

In this class, students explore humankind’s enduring fascination with tales of restless spirits and haunted places. Tracing the evolution of the genre from oral storytelling traditions to literary fiction and drama, the class unearths common themes and investigates what ghost stories can tell us about ourselves. Do ghost stories simply fulfill a need to enjoy a good scare? Or do they serve the purpose of helping us answer deeper questions about death, morality, justice, and spirituality? Using the lenses of history, religion, psychology, and literature, students will unpack the significance of ghost stories as cultural signifiers and important literary works.

We live in a world inundated with brand messaging and imagery. We are all deeply conversant in the language of brands, but we often aren't aware that we are. If you are interested in the mechanics of marketing and branding, if you'd like to learn more about how the influencers influence us, if you are interested in business or entrepreneurship, if you're a social media maven, a podcaster, writer, videographer or filmmaker, photographer, or anyone else interested in the creative arts, take this introductory course! We'll learn what a brand is, the 4 Ps of marketing, all about audience segmentation, competitor analysis, and explore topics like the psychology of colors and fonts, the history of marketing and advertising, how brands influence and are influenced by culture and impact ideas of race, class, and gender, as well as the tools and techniques brands use to influence us... and how we may use them to become more savvy consumers or even create our own brands!

This course will explore major events, ideologies, and encounters that continue to shape the Modern Middle East: colonialism, nationalism, war, the nation-state system, and political Islam. Starting with the precipitating events of WWI and continuing up to the present moment, students will gain a better understanding of the modern Middle East and its relationship to Europe and the U.S., and also confront the ways in which certain historical narratives feed and perpetuate current stereotypes. Contemporary topics that we will likely cover include peace for Israel and Palestine, the nuclearization of Iran, the Syrian Civil War, the departure of the U.S. military from Afghanistan, recent women-led protests throughout the region, among others. This course will be a solid course for students who are interested in a potential career in the government, international relations, and politics. 

In this course we will explore the hallmarks of a moral panic. We'll look at the Salem Witch Trials and witch hunts in the 1600s, the red scare of the 1940s-80s, and the satanic panic of the 1970s-90s. Students will then have the opportunity to study a moral panic in depth and identify the elements that make it a moral panic, the history of how it happened, and how the panic ended.

This course is offered in the 2022-23 school year.

When asked about the importance of myth, Joseph Campbell replied that “Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of the human life.” Mythology is a course about cultures separated by time, history, and geography, but linked through a common fascination with myth, stories, and symbols. The legend of King Arthur, Tristan and Isolde, Aladdin, and the Arabian Nights are epic tales of love, vengeance, and heroism, but their effectiveness as stories lies in the humanity at the core of their structure, content, and characters. People of the ancient world conquered their fear of the unknown by fashioning the gods in their image, imbuing them with ethical flaws and moral failings that are relatable because they are human. This course is an introduction to the who’s who of classical mythology and its cultural influence on ideas of justice, sex, identity, and gender in film and literature. Along our journey, we will decide how to define a myth? Is it different from religion? How do we define a hero? How do films and novels reflect our values? To what extent has mythology influenced and shaped our American conceptions of heroism, morality, family, and identity? Potential texts include John Steinbeck’s The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, The Legend of Jack the Giant Killer, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, The Arabian Nights, and Aladdin.

Mythology is a course about two cultures—Norse  and American—separated by time, history, and geography, but linked through a common fascination with myth, stories, and symbols. The overall goal of this course is to expose students to the teachings and wisdom contained within ancient texts and to enable them to see the extent to which modern literature and culture is shaped and informed by that knowledge. The Norse myths are epic tales of love, vengeance, and heroism, but their effectiveness as stories lies in the humanity at the core of their structure, content, and characters. The Scandinavians conquered their fear of the unknown by fashioning the gods in their image, imbuing them with ethical flaws and moral failings that are relatable because they are human. This course is an introduction to the who’s who of classical mythology and its cultural influence on ideas of justice, sex, identity, and gender in American film and literature.

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.

How do we relate to children’s literature that was once widely popular, when the viewpoints it espouses become outdated? This course will examine classic 19th/20th century children's books that have attracted controversy. What is their cultural importance, what messages were they disseminating and how did these novels reflect the times in which they were penned? We will also discuss what role these same works have in twenty-first century society. When some of the beliefs and messages are outdated, what is left of value in the texts to make them worthy not just of preservation, but of study? On one hand, children are in the process of forming their own identities and thus, might be more impressionable. However, while it might be simpler to ban books whose messages we now find offensive, that also cuts children off from characters whose adventures, problems, and narratives have enriched readers’ lives for well over a century. We will concentrate on discovering ways to bring these books into a modern literary conversation about race, gender, and the history of colonialism, focusing on classic texts and contemporary issues, such as the recent focus on updating Roald Dahl's books and the "smiling slave" controversy of A Fine Dessert and A Birthday Cake for George Washington. Proposed books include Peter and Wendy, Tarzan of the Apes, Little House on the Prairie, Aladdin, Treasure Island.

This course is offered in the 2023-24 school year.

When journalists asked Sir Edmund Hillary why he wanted to be the first human to set foot on the summit of Mt. Everest, he replied, “Because it’s there”. Well said! This class explores the vital relationship between wild spaces (jungles, mountains, oceans, deserts) and the individuals and groups who push themselves to find meaning within them. We will begin with readings from early European settlers in North America and their attitudes toward nature and uninhabited lands. Then we will move to the rich literary tradition of documenting—through journals, essays, novels and podcasts—journeys into the unknown.  Warning: some of the readings feature unseemly death. Most contain dramatic weight loss, the presence of creatures large and small that want to cause harm, temperatures both frigid and scorching, and moments of total bliss, joy, freedom, and the redefining of what is possible for humans to achieve.

When journalists asked Sir Edmund Hillary why he wanted to be the first human to set foot on the summit of Mt. Everest, he replied, “Because it’s there”. Well said! This class explores the vital relationship between wild spaces (jungles, mountains, oceans, deserts) and the individuals and groups who push themselves to find meaning within them. We will begin with readings from early European settlers in North America and their attitudes toward nature and uninhabited lands. Then we will move to the rich literary tradition of documenting—through journals, essays, novels and podcasts—journeys into the unknown.  Warning: some of the readings feature unseemly death. Most contain dramatic weight loss, the presence of creatures large and small that want to cause harm, temperatures both frigid and scorching, and moments of total bliss, joy, freedom, and the redefining of what is possible for humans to achieve.

The Paw Print is our SA school newspaper. In this elective, you’ll work as a team of journalists to pitch, research, write, edit, and publish articles that will reach the entire SA community and beyond. No experience is necessary; you’ll learn all the skills you’ll need to write for every section of the paper (news, features, arts and entertainment, opinions, sports), from pitching to interviewing to writing a snappy lede to copy editing. Students who are looking to have a leadership role on the paper (editors-in-chief, section editors, editors of photography and graphics, regular columnists, etc) must be enrolled in this class.

In this elective we will learn the basic building blocks of a story, which includes the elements of character, setting, and theme as well as structure. We will create our own stories based on experiences from our life and then hone, craft, and rehearse those stories to be produced for live performance.

This American History elective course examines the complex interdependency of three categories of analysis: race, class, and gender. Beginning in 1954 with the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education and continuing through the present day, students consider issues such as affirmative action, migrant worker rights, gender discrimination in education and the workplace, gay marriage, and the plight of the working poor.

This course is an examination of the issues and impact of sport in various cultures and subcultures within the context of sociology. This study of sport includes an exploration of how it is influenced by and influences the basic institutions of society: family, economics, politics, religion, education, etc. This course examines selected topics within the sociology and history of sport. Particular emphasis will be given to issues related to the potential of sport to benefit society as well as  its potential to reinforce existing social problems.

This course will dive into the history of the Titanic. We will study every aspect of the ship and its sinking, such as the science behind the engineering and sinking, the media surrounding the sinking, the Mandela Effect of eyewitness accounts, the implementation of new laws and regulations after the sinking, the search for the wreck, and the moral and physical implications of research and tourist trips to the wreck. Students will then research their own disaster in depth to identify each element: cause, media reaction, and regulations and law changes.