Division III Humanities

In the 11th and 12th grades, literature and social studies are no longer integrated as they were in Division II. However, building on the integrated courses in the 9th and 10th grades, students continue connecting ideas across disciplinary lines while pursuing greater mastery within the distinct disciplines of literature and social studies. The following curricula are taught in alternating years.

Literature

To complement perspectives experienced through social studies aspects of Division III study, students will seek to hear the voices and ideas of individuals writing in different times and places. The reading list will include a variety of styles, genres, and countries of origin. Visual or musical texts will expand our readings of the written word.

Skills practice will focus on reading for deeper, more detailed comprehension, taking notes in-text and writing impromptu essays as well as drafting, editing and revising written work. Writing at this level focuses primarily on literary analysis, with options available for creative writing or projects in other media at the end of specific units. Sample reading programs follow, but the lists remain flexible and open to adaptation based on changing focus ideas, themes, and special interests of students.

EUROPEAN PROGRAM

We will refresh memories or introduce students to some landmark stories and symbols from classical mythology and The Bible, with a look toward being more culturally literate readers, as western literature borrows from and alludes to these stories through generations of texts. We will continue our cultural orientation by looking at the medieval and Renaissance mindsets and culture, especially in terms of religious views and conflicts. A study of Dante’s Inferno will be our central text.

Shakespeare is the focus of an extended, intensive study of two plays–likely selections are Macbeth and Othello . We use quality film productions to enhance students’ comprehension and range of interpretation as they learn to appreciate and understand the dramatic structure and poetic content of Shakespeare’s craft.

Social satire is a special focus of the 18th century unit. Featured texts are Voltaire’s Candide and Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal . Other media of the era might include excerpts from the Mozart-Da Ponte opera The Marriage of Figaro and William Hogarth’s prints and paintings. Leonard Bernstein’s Candide could be another musical complement.
With a move into the nineteenth century, the internal, human perspective is further mixed with the external social perspective on power and colonialism as captured by Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness. We might study how Apocalypse Now retells and reinterprets Conrad’s story.

LITERATURE OF THE UNITED STATES

This course of study will examine narratives of the United States found in classic, contemporary, and current readings from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.

Essayists, poets, playwrights, and fiction writers have commented on how American ideals have evolved, strengthened, been lost, or challenged in the 19th and 20th centuries. We will seek connection to our country’s current experience in perspectives from the past.

The list below represents the range of texts by Americans we could draw upon. It includes, but is not limited to, the following authors, titles, and sources:

• Verse: Elizabeth Bishop, Emily Dickinson, Sherman Alexie, Emma Lazarus, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes
• Short Fiction: Nathaniel Hawthorne, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Kate Chopin, John Updike
• Novels: Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivner and Benito Cereno , F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, excerpts from Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.
• Drama: Thorton Wilder’s Our Town, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• Film and Visual Art: Gentleman’s Agreement ,artwork of Winslow Homer
• Non-fiction: essays, news stories and commentaries.

Social Studies

For 11th and 12th grades, Social Studies is split into two alternating units. The first unit explores Western Civilization, while the second unit focuses on US History. Our two strands of skills and knowledge are: (1) evaluating sources and exploring perspectives on events, considering the biases through which all stories are told, and (2) communicating clearly regarding events, using evidence to support one’s perspective.

Western Civilization

In this course, we start with examining Greco-Roman civilizations, laying the groundwork for conversations about the impact these civilizations have had from the Renaissance through to our modern world. We will explore early thinking in math, philosophy, government, and military strategy. Specifically, we focus on the legacy of Western Civilization: understanding how the themes, philosophies and events of Western Civilization continue to impact our world and culture today. Examples range from Socrates and Pythagoras to the Roman conquering of the Gauls.

From there, we explore the Middle Ages and the impact of Christianity. Examples will include the Crusades, churches and monasteries, William the Conqueror (and the Bayeux Tapestry), and the Plague. Next, we delve into the Italian Renaissance, including art, politics, and science. We follow up with The Protestant Reformation and the French Revolution (and its connections to America). We finish with a discussion of early modern Europe, including the Industrial Revolution and the rise of nationalism. As we examine historical events, students will use the tools and methods of the historian to develop their own understanding of the people, places and ideas discussed.

History of the United States: The Colonial Era to the Modern Era

This course will use numerous primary and secondary sources with a view toward considering multiple perspectives on US History. Throughout, students will take on the role of historian with the goal of developing an accurate and personally relevant understanding of the American past and the narrative of US History.

The course is divided into four sections, roughly one per marking period.

In the first section, we focus on the development of the nation. The second section addresses the sectional conflict that led to the Civil War, the war itself, and Reconstruction. In the third section, we investigate the rise of an urban industrial society, issues of race, the changing roles of women, and the Gilded Age. The final section begins with World War II and moves to the Cold War. Throughout the year we will discuss domestic and international current events in order to explain how American history has shaped contemporary issues.

Revised September 2017