Humanities
Our curriculum teaches students to think critically and creatively, to collaborate, to lead, to disagree, and to build consensus, and these tenets are central to our Humanities courses. Students spend their freshman year immersed in an interdisciplinary curriculum rooted in literature and history.
Following a case study approach, the course organizes itself around the essential question: How does geography shape culture? Sophomore year, we ask students to get more philosophical, bringing the same interdisciplinary approach to the essential question: How do ideas shape culture? Junior year, students take a closer look at where they themselves come from in another interdisciplinary course that examines primary and secondary sources from American history and a wide range of literature by American writers, and asks the question: What does it mean to be American?
Whether they want to dive deep into Historical Research, or venture abroad with Comparative Religions or Middle Eastern Studies; whether they want to explore the past with Archeology or the world of ideas with Philosophy in Literature; whether they want to learn more about Constitutional Law, African Studies, or Race, Class, and Gender; or whether they want to immerse themselves in Art History to the Literature of the Supernatural to Mythology, our students have the latitude to follow their passions in our Humanities electives. All humanities classes emphasize writing, reading, and class discussion, helping students learn to express their ideas clearly and cogently in college and beyond.
Following a case study approach, the course organizes itself around the essential question: How does geography shape culture? Sophomore year, we ask students to get more philosophical, bringing the same interdisciplinary approach to the essential question: How do ideas shape culture? Junior year, students take a closer look at where they themselves come from in another interdisciplinary course that examines primary and secondary sources from American history and a wide range of literature by American writers, and asks the question: What does it mean to be American?
Whether they want to dive deep into Historical Research, or venture abroad with Comparative Religions or Middle Eastern Studies; whether they want to explore the past with Archeology or the world of ideas with Philosophy in Literature; whether they want to learn more about Constitutional Law, African Studies, or Race, Class, and Gender; or whether they want to immerse themselves in Art History to the Literature of the Supernatural to Mythology, our students have the latitude to follow their passions in our Humanities electives. All humanities classes emphasize writing, reading, and class discussion, helping students learn to express their ideas clearly and cogently in college and beyond.
To learn more about our current Humanities course offerings, choose Humanities from the department listings on the sidebar.
Humanities Staffulty
-
Michele Martin
Michele Martin
Librarian; Director of Information Science; Humanities Teacher
Michele’s career path wound through some unexpected places on the way to the library. -
Sourosh Amani
Sourosh Amani
Humanities Teacher -
Laura Hansen
Laura Hansen
Humanities Teacher -
Rodney Fierce
Rodney Fierce
Humanities Teacher
"I want my students to develop their own voices, to engage with the voices in the text and find similarities. My goal is to get us to see history from different perspectives." -
Drew Gloger
Drew Gloger
Humanities Dept. Chair & Teacher; Honor Dean
I didn’t want to be pigeonholed as an English or History teacher. I wanted that real spectrum of all sorts of things... -
Kerry Hanlon
Kerry Hanlon
Humanities Teacher
"At SA, I can teach material that I'm actually excited about, rather than having to manufacture excitement." -
Laura Hansen
Laura Hansen
Humanities Teacher -
David Hyde
David Hyde
Humanities Teacher
-
Jamie Murray
Jamie Murray
Humanities Teacher
“Every new teacher who has stepped in has interpreted Humanities in their own way. It feels like a living, breathing entity, always adapting.” -
Brandon Spars
Brandon Spars
Humanities Teacher Brandon is our resident storyteller, and many of his stories first took shape in our classrooms as he taught about the places where he has lived and loved...
Sonoma Academy Is...
...the only private, independent, college preparatory high school in Sonoma County. On our beautiful campus nestled at the base of Taylor Mountain in Southeastern Santa Rosa, our students are able to explore their interests and passions in a rigorous and inspiring environment that develops a lifelong love of learning and prepares them for college and beyond.
Sonoma Academy admits students of any race, color, religion, ethnicity or national origin, citizenship, gender or gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or disability, to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity or national origin, citizenship, gender or gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and tuition assistance programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
