Humanities

Bay’s Humanities 1 and 2 sequence, taken in 9th- and 10th-grades, is an interdisciplinary program that integrates the study of literature, history, world religions and belief systems, ethics, and the arts. In this first year of the two-year sequence, students explore their and others’ journeys while asking essential questions about core human experiences: Who am I? How does family shape my identity? What is community? Who belongs and who is excluded? What is culture? How does it change? What is society, and how does it influence its members?  Starting with the personal, students expand outward by examining the role of successively larger systems through cultural, historical, literary, political, and social lenses. Via a diverse range of literary works, students explore how systems shape their and others’ identities and worldviews, thereby coming to better understand the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, socio-economic class, immigration status, and age. Along the way, students develop skills essential to their work in Bay’s Humanities program: grammar foundations, critical thinking, collaboration, listening, speaking, reading for history and literature, and analytical writing. No prerequisite.

Bay’s Humanities 1 and 2 sequence, taken in 9th- and 10th-grades, is an interdisciplinary program that integrates the study of literature, history, world religions, ethics, and the arts. The second year of this two-year sequence continues to examine the role of systems in social life by asking essential questions aimed at understanding our core experiences as human beings: How does a text show values? How do values held by individuals and communities become systematized? How do these systems shape our history? How do individuals and communities interact with these systems? Where does power lie? Students begin by studying the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. After identifying founding values from primary religious texts and supplementary historical sources, students study how religious values inform historical and contemporary systems. Following the 10th-grade immersive, Shakespeare Unbound, the spring semester begins with a literary examination of pre-colonial Nigeria. The course then turns from colonial empires to 20th century world events that reshaped the world order, including WWI, WWII, and contemporary conflicts that grew out of the post-war period. All the while, students develop critical reading and analytical writing skills through their encounters with increasingly challenging primary and secondary source texts. Prerequisite: Humanities 1

Civics is a required one-semester course for all 10th-graders. This project-based course will prepare students for civic engagement and political participation by helping students understand our political system and government’s role in American life. The overarching goal is to build civic literacy and to foster civic engagement. The course will center on these essential questions: What role should government play in our lives? What are your rights and responsibilities as citizens? How can you make informed decisions? How can you influence and take part in the political process? The course builds a foundation of research and media literacy skills, while allowing students to identify and examine a topic of personal interest. Topics will invite exploration of our political system and process, and be as varied as students’ passions—from the social to the scientific, from the economic to the environmental. Students will define a meaningful question, then use text-based and field-research techniques to gather information that they will ultimately share to present their findings. Prerequisite: Humanities 1

A year-long required 11th-grade course, American Studies takes a multidisciplinary approach toward our country’s history, culture, and ideals. The course is guided by the following essential questions: Who is an American? What are American ideals? To what extent have they been upheld, ignored, or rejected? Who tells the American story and how? Where does your story fit? How have Americans’ responses to these questions changed and remained the same over time? Students explore a wide variety of primary and secondary sources including literature, art, music, and historical documents to explore the American experience. Through this work, students develop a layered understanding of the interplay between the cultural, political, and socio-economic forces that have shaped our country. Students also develop their abilities to synthesize and draw upon an array of sources; delve into specific moments of this nation’s history through independent research and presentation of their findings; and speak thoughtfully about how the evolution of the United States has shaped their upbringing and worldviews. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

This student-driven, project-based course focuses on the genres of memoir, analysis, and short story. Over the course of the semester, students read mentor texts from each genre, and, applying what they have learned, compose works of their own. With the help of instructor and peer feedback, students take each project through 5-6 fully revised drafts. In the process, students learn how to employ grammar-as-style to hone their personal writing voices in different genres. By the end of the term, students will have composed three major pieces of writing. Likely authors include Joan Didion,  Jonathan Safran Foer, Roxane Gay, Nadine Gordimer, Stephen King, Anne Lamott, Haruki Murakami, Flannery O’Connor, Richard Rodriguez, David Sedaris, and Tobias Wolf. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

In this course, students examine the significance of the African American literary tradition in shaping the identities and the histories of African Americans beginning with slave narratives of the 19th century through the Black Lives Matter movement of the 21st century. Students read and analyze poetry, essays, stories, novels, and media connected to the historical, political, social, and artistic forces that shape African American authors’ works—and their contributions/responses to what it means to live in the U.S. This course answers the following questions: What role has writing by African Americans played in the long fight for political freedom and equality? How has that writing changed over time to reflect the different political needs of its historical moment? How has that writing been shaped by different ways of thinking about race, gender, class, sexuality, politics, and power? How has the dominant culture had an impact on African American writing, and how African Americans see themselves in relationship to larger systemic forces? By the end of the course, students are able to address these questions while also raising new questions related to topics that arise. Possible authors include Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Geraldine Brooks, Charles Chesnutt, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Ralph Ellison, Nella Larsen,  Toni Morrison, Claudia Rankine, Alice Walker, Phyllis Wheatley, and Richard Wright. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

*This course meets Bay’s Ethnic Studies designation.

This course will explore the historical and social roots of Asian American literature throughout the 20th and 21st centuries by reading essays, poetry, short fiction, novels, and experiencing music, art, and film. The course intends to reflect the ethnic diversity of Asian American experiences and explores identity at the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, and social class. Likely texts include: When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka, Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu, The Gangster We Are All Looking For by Lê Thị Diễm Thúy and short stories, poetry, and nonfiction by Ocean Vuong, Jhumpa Lahiri, Geeta Kothari, Ken Liu, Amy Chua and Wesley Yang. We will consider questions such as: How do Asian American writers represent the United States? How do they represent their nations of origin or the traditions and history of their ancestors? How does gender intersect with race or ethnicity? Are the texts themselves remarkable in genre, style, form, or language? What historical events or experiences do they examine and illuminate? How does history shape their contemporary lives and attitudes? Who is an American? What does it mean to be an American? How is identity produced and reflected in the works we read? Students practice writing in a range of modes, including personal narrative, short fiction, and analytical writing. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

*This course meets Bay’s Ethnic Studies designation.

In this workshop-style class, students write extensively in the genres of fiction and creative nonfiction. Students take each piece through multiple drafts, participating in whole-class and small-group critiques, and learning to read with a writer’s eye. In support of their own writerly pursuits, students read and analyze works from a range of authors in order to expand their perspectives, writerly skill sets, and ability to cogently and empathetically discuss fellow writers’ work. Students should expect to leave this class with a greater understanding of their own voice, exposure to contemporary literature, and a glimpse into the world of professional writing and publishing—including the simplest and hardest truth of all: sometimes, you just have to sit down and write. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

Is human behavior determined by nature or nurture? Do we have free will? Are we more inclined to evil or good? What role did evolution have in shaping human nature? What roles do culture and the environment play? In this course, we grapple with some of the most enduring and confounding questions about humanity. This class is designed as a survey of introductions to many different disciplines, including units on theology, philosophy, biology, anthropology, psychology, and sociology. Core texts and authors may include Christian scripture, philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, Mencius, Zunxi, Confucius, Hobbes, Sigmund Freud, Jane Goodall, and William Golding's Lord of the Flies. If you are curious about what scientists, religious practitioners, and philosophers have to say about humans, this is the class for you. Be prepared to try on new and unfamiliar ideas about yourself and the world. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

Starting with indigenous perspectives and the Puritans of New England, this course will explore through short readings and popular media how Americans have reconciled ideals of pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps independence and individual achievement with disability justice’s call for interdependence, care, and community. After briefly surveying competing understandings of disability in American history, students will turn their attention to neurodivergent characters and creators in contemporary American storytelling. Texts include short stories, poetry, excerpts from graphic memoirs, and genre films. Students who want to grow as effective communicators and engaged collaborators can expect a course that balances creative project work with the development of academic speaking and writing skills. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

Oftentimes in secondary and higher education, students only have the chance to view South Asian stories from the purview of Asian American or World Literature classes, within which only a select few, of often Indian, Westernized, and privileged, authors are chosen. The purpose of this course is to offer a deeper view of South Asian Literature and the historical events that shaped this region as we read about it today. This course hopes to offer a broader and diverse selection of South Asian authors from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the South Asian Diaspora, as well as across religious, socioeconomic, gendered, and historical perspectives. Units in this course will look across time periods of pre-colonial, colonial, Partition, and post-colonial narratives. Featured texts may include: The Upanishads and The Charyapada (pre-colonial); poetry by Rabindranath Tagore and The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh (colonial); The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani, short stories by Sadat Manto, poetry by Fatima Asghar (Partition); The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, and It's Not About the Burqa edited by Mariam Kha (post-colonial). Other authors may include: Bharati Mukherjee, Perumal Murugan, and films, such as Fire, Fire and Mississippi Masala. Prerequisite: Humanities 2.

*This course meets Bay’s Ethnic Studies designation.

How are the otherworldly, mind-bending worlds of science fiction built? And what truths about our own world might these worlds reveal? In this literature course, students explore these essential questions through critical reading and analysis of classic and contemporary science fiction novels, short stories, and film and television. Students read extensively, write critically and creatively, engage in and lead small- and large-format discussions, and transfer learning to independently-read texts. Likely authors include Ursula LeGuin, Liu Cixin, N. K. Jemisin, Ann Leckie, Ted Chiang, Ken Liu, Octavia Butler, Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, and Arthur C. Clarke. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

In this course, students explore the nature of “The American Dream” as it has been depicted in American literature, as well as how our understanding of it has been based on/has been shaped by economic theories. We examine related myths and essential questions, including the following: Who tells the American story? How have American ideals been challenged, upheld or ignored? How has the American Dream differed across communities and time? What is the relationship between economic markets and government? Who decides? How does that relationship impact American culture? Communities? Individuals? Possible literary works include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. We also delve into secondary sources to deepen our understanding of the economic theoretical implications of “The American Dream” throughout the 20th century and today. Along with large and small group discussions, students engage in dramatic activities, play a variety of games, and write analytical as well as creative pieces to show their understanding of this complex, problematic, always relevant topic. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

Once upon a time, in classrooms and salons across the West, literature and philosophy mingled, and a few thinkers emerged with big ideas about our world and the stories that we tell. Through a series of portfolio projects, students interrogate selected writings by Judith Butler, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, and Edward Said—all of whom argue that how we choose to approach stories makes worlds of difference. Students become familiar with the vocabulary of several schools of theory and apply them to classic children’s stories and films, including Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and Aladdin. By the end of this course, students develop new flexibility in their thinking and analysis. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

When an artist or a collective of artists chooses theater as a medium for their message and a channel for their creativity, they are inviting us, the audience, directly into collaboration. Why was Fiddler on the Roof the longest running musical on record in Tokyo? How does this art form engage audiences, hold up a mirror to culture, and bring catharsis and change in culture? This course will partner Bay instructors and students with ground-breaking theater artists from Magic Theatre to consider these and other questions about the form. Students will study historical and contemporary dramatic literature. Through literary criticism and script analysis of plays, students will become familiar with story, structure, dramatic action, character development, and theme. Selected scenes will be considered in performance on film, through class demonstration, and through attending live performances. Students will become more perceptive and participatory readers, writers, and leaders. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

This course is designed for students who enjoy reading and discussing novels, belong to a book club or a reading group, read reviews of fiction, have opinions and ideas about novels, have ever thought 'so many books, so little time', and wondered how to decide which authors to try. The class will demystify literary terms such as modernism, magic realism and postmodernism. This course aims to take a student's enjoyment and appreciation of fiction to the next stage and develop their ideas into coherent, backed-up analytical arguments. Texts may include Atonement, Beyond Black, Never Let Me Go, and more. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

In this course, inspired by Dr. Laurie Santos’ class “Psychology and The Good Life,” students examine what it means to live “The Good Life” by reading philosophical texts, essays, and works of fiction. Key topics will include the nature of happiness in our modern world, cognitive and emotional well-being, emotional agility, self-examination, and social justice. Throughout the course, students will engage in large and small group discussions and dramatic activities. They will write analytical and creative pieces, and will engage in introspective exercises and projects to help them learn and practice skills to lead a more meaningful life. Potential thinkers/authors include Aristotle, Plato, Epictetus, William B. Irvine, Brenè Brown, Susan David, Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckhart Tolle, Jonathan Haidt, Paulo Coelho, Henrik Ibsen, David Sedaris, Mindy Kaling, and Rachel Bloom. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

This course examines the nonfiction genres of memoir and personal essay, which, while attending to factual accuracy, focus on personal experience and individual ideas. Students read numerous short essays along with a book-length memoir, critically analyze the various approaches authors take when working within these genres, and distinguish how writers create artistic/literary works distinct from journalism, biography, and fictional storytelling. In addition to reading, listening to, and writing about important literary nonfiction works, students compose their own memoirs and essays, one of which they turn into a video essay or audio segment in the style of podcasts such as This American Life and The Moth. Be advised, these genres often give readers the opportunity to engage the harsh realities of being human from a relatively safe, if not entirely comfortable, distance. Many of the assigned readings discuss sensitive and emotional topics. [This course is an Honors course; see Honors information for details.] Prerequisite: Humanities 2

This course takes students through the literary history of Great Britain, beginning in the 17th century and continuing through the early 20th century. As time permits, we will look at works from the late 20th to early 21st centuries. Students gain a broad understanding of the history and literature of Great Britain while learning about the notions of empire, colonization, domination, and, ultimately, Britain’s place in the cultural and literary world of today. The course is a comprehensive survey that exposes students to some of the most important literary works and ideas ever written in English. To that end, we examine poetry, nonfiction, short stories, novels, plays, and essays written by some of Britain's most known authors, including Chaucer, Spencer, Shakespeare, Herbert, Donne, Austin, Wollstonecraft, Wolfe, and Lawrence. Students come to understand the ways in which British literature adapts, changes, reverts, recollects, and builds upon itself and the effects those works had on the world at large. Students question how ideas of empire, religion, science, war, gender, sexuality, race, and class are considered, contested, and praised throughout Britain’s literary tradition. Students should be prepared to manage a significant reading load and sometimes complex assignments, as well as substantial advanced research and independent work. Come read with us and learn the origins of many of the colloquial expressions, witticisms, and plotlines that are still being explored by authors and scholars today.  [This course is an Honors course; see Honors information for details.] Prerequisite: Humanities 2

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 will start with an analysis and exploration of 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 that may include The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, 1984 by George Orwell, 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 is an Honors course; see Honors information for details.] Prerequisite: Humanities 2

By embracing a global perspective, this course aims to challenge conventional literary canons, fostering a nuanced understanding of literature that reflects the myriad voices and experiences from across the decolonized English-speaking world. This course will transcend boundaries by incorporating diverse texts, including Maria Dahvana Headley's transformative translation of Beowulf, Yaa Gyasi's evocative novel Homegoing, Salman Rushdie's rich essays, Jean Rhys's provocative Wide Sargasso Sea, and Jhumpa Lahiri's poignant stories. Through critical analysis, discussions, and creative engagement, students will gain a deeper appreciation for the cultural diversity and rich literary heritage that extends beyond traditional Western frameworks, fostering a more inclusive and globally aware educational experience. [This course is an Honors course; see Honors information for details.] Prerequisite: Humanities 2.

*This course meets Bay’s Ethnic Studies designation.

Whose stories are told? And who tells them? Who among us even has just one single story to tell? In this course, students examine how and why singular stories are formed, the dominant cultures that create them, and the lengths authors take to break free of these narratives. Essential questions include: How do authors complicate narratives, thematically and structurally, to offer more accurate, representative, and pluralistic depictions of their communities? What does a singular story inherently miss? What truth, insight, and beauty can we gain by hearing a multiplicity of voices, rather than just one? Some featured texts in this course may include Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh, There There by Tommy Orange, the Ms. Marvel series, and other authors, such as Toni Morrison, Zadie Smith, and Carmen Maria Machado. Using these texts, students will engage in thoughtful discussions, articulate nuanced critiques of canonical and non-canonical literature, and compose their own creative work to offer complex narratives about their communities. [This course is an Honors course; see Honors information for details.] Prerequisite: Humanities 2.

*This course meets Bay’s Ethnic Studies designation.

This course studies existentialist philosophy via multiple disciplines, including literature, religion, and film. Students grapple with basic existential themes such as the meaning of human existence, freedom and responsibility, the individual versus society, and the role of suffering. Students are asked to consider questions of freedom and authenticity, and to what extent they have the power to make a mark on the world through their actions and choices. Potential thinkers/authors include James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, Soren Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Albert Camus, Jean Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir. [This course is an Honors course; see Honors information for details.] Prerequisite: Humanities 2

Can art change the world? History and current examples show that it can, and that the effects are profound. This integrated course combines political, social and art history with hands-on studio art experiences to explore the ways in which the arts are a tool for social change. The course is team-taught by two teachers, one with expertise in art and one with background in social studies and history. Students will research historical and contemporary social movements and produce original artwork reacting to a range of issues. Topics may include: labor and class; civil rights and racial equality; feminism and gender; the environment; youth movements and culture; war and violence. Artists may use written or spoken words, posters, painting, photography and performance. The course is project-based; students build skills and content knowledge through authentic, flexible, student-directed projects. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

This course prepares students for informed participation in the global community by deeply comparing different political systems and cultures. Students explore five different political systems (the United States, France, Mexico, Nigeria, and China) and simultaneously conduct independent research projects on a country of their choice. The course begins with an introduction to comparative politics and its conceptual framework. Then, students compare democratic systems in the United States, France, Mexico, and Nigeria exploring the following questions: What aspects do all democratic regimes and ideologies share in common? What are some variations in the institutional structures and practices of different democratic systems? In what ways do these systems fail to live up to democratic criteria? What can the U.S. learn from other systems, and vice versa? Next, students learn about authoritarian regimes by closely examining China through questions such as: Are economic reform and political reform necessarily linked? Does economic growth promote democracy? During the final weeks of the course, students complete their country case studies and share their findings with their peers. [This course is an Honors course; see Honors information for details.] Prerequisite: Civics

In this course, students will engage with key texts around issues of race, class, and gender in order to better understand the history, theory, and modern implications of these essential topics. Students will gain fluency in discussing these topics so they can be more prepared to engage dynamically in the complexities around these issues in the real world. In addition to essential texts by authors like bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Judith Butler, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Edward Said, and Michel Foucault, we will be equally focused on how these issues show up in the news and on social media on a daily basis. In addition to practicing our skills around critical reading, analytical writing, and engaged discussion, a significant focus of this course will be to work on how students can communicate with others around these issues so that their learning and work in this course will have broader implications in our community and in our broader society. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

*This course meets Bay’s Ethnic Studies designation.

How do cultural, environmental, and economic factors interact to shape the distribution and evolution of human settlements globally? What role do geographical features and spatial patterns play in influencing the development and diffusion of various cultural practices, including religion, food, and architecture? How do population dynamics, including migration trends and demographic shifts, impact social, political, and economic landscapes in different regions around the world? Human Geography delves into the dynamic relationship between human societies and their environments, exploring key themes like agriculture, architecture, culture, religion, food, population, demographics, environment, and housing. Through map analysis, GIS tools, and case studies, students examine the spatial distribution and interconnectedness of these themes globally. Emphasizing critical analysis, students investigate how human actions influence and are influenced by geographical factors. The course aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of how various socio-cultural, economic, and environmental elements shape our world, fostering a deeper appreciation for the complexities of global interactions as well as skills in spatial analysis. [This course is an Honors course; see Honors information for details.] Prerequisite: Humanities 2

Whether or not you identify as a part of the queer community, everyone living in the Bay Area has been impacted by queer history. Queerness is not only woven into the cultural and historic fabric of San Francisco, but also represents a revolutionary opportunity to rethink conceptions of family, community, sexuality, and gender. Although queer history is as old as human civilization, this course will focus primarily on modern American queer history. The Lavender Scare, the AIDS epidemic, underground queer subcultures, the Stonewall riots, San Francisco queer history, Pride celebrations, and the fight for marriage equality will all be topics of examination. Throughout these investigations, we will explore how identities beyond queerness intersect to inform individual and collective experiences. This course is for those who want to learn more about the interplay between oppression, celebration, and revolution; those who want to critically examine the ways in which American culture has evolved in response to queerness; and those who want to develop a deeper understanding of San Francisco history. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

*This course meets Bay’s Ethnic Studies designation.

Latin America and the United States are increasingly intertwined and will become more so in the years ahead. As the people of our regions continue to mix, understanding ourselves necessitates knowing our neighbors. Latin America encompasses a complex and fascinating diversity of people and places. In this course, students gain a historical understanding of the region’s many identities while exploring their cultures, economies, politics, and societies. To this end, students will examine a variety of sources, such as documentaries, films, short stories, chronicles, articles, poetry, and songs. Students will also explore an overview of the conquest and colonialism that marked the region until the 19th-century before turning to focus on the 20th- and 21st-century topics of neocolonialism, nationalism, revolution, neoliberalism, and social movements. Students will have the opportunity to investigate enduring topics such as class, gender, and race relations—and, of course, the enduring influence of the United States. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

*This course meets Bay’s Ethnic Studies designation.

This course offers an exploration of the region's history, art, religion, and politics. As we delve into the 19th and 20th centuries, we'll explore key elements such as imperialism, nationalism, and modern state formation, shedding light on the intricate interplay of religion, Orientalism, gender, and the impact of oil. Navigating pivotal moments, including the Arab-Israeli crisis, anticolonial revolutions, and the neoliberal turn, we'll uncover insights into contemporary issues rooted in historical trajectories. To provide a holistic understanding of the Middle East and its complexities, we will watch films that examine themes of war, identity, sexuality, and immigration. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

*This course meets Bay’s Ethnic Studies designation.

Comparative Religion examines how several faith traditions—Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam—answer key existential questions and offer prescriptions for living a meaningful life. In addition to looking at key scripture from each tradition, students read and hear personal reflections from those who are adherents of each faith. As a means of introducing students to each religion’s core beliefs and common practices/rituals, the course also exposes students to the artistic traditions—visual, decorative, theatrical, and/or musical—that have developed to celebrate faiths and build communities. [This course is an Honors course; see Honors information for details.] Prerequisite: Humanities 2

This foundational course examines what it means to live consciously and ethically, exploring our responsibilities both to ourselves and to our society. Students grapple with themes of freedom and obligation, individuality versus the collective, and the validity of established moral codes as presented through philosophy, film, and literature. Through this class, students are asked to critically reflect on their own moral codes in light of the ethical frameworks and dilemmas studied. Students will explore these frameworks through short case studies (possible topics include social media, privatized health care, affirmative action, and AI) and a project-based individual exploration of a topic of personal interest. The goal of this course is to make ethics accessible and applicable to real-world contexts, meaning that all students—regardless of their interest in philosophy—can find something of value both in the questions this class poses and the problems it considers. While this course does not necessarily provide answers, it helps students reflect on the ways they want to move in the world and how they hope to effect change. Possible thinkers include Mencius, the Dalai Lama, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Aristotle, Kant, Mill, Hannah Arendt, Peter Singer, John Rawls, and Elizabeth Anderson. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

This course studies existentialist philosophy via multiple disciplines, including literature, religion, and film. Students grapple with basic existential themes such as the meaning of human existence, freedom and responsibility, the individual versus society, and the role of suffering. Students are asked to consider questions of freedom and authenticity, and to what extent they have the power to make a mark on the world through their actions and choices. Potential thinkers/authors include James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, Soren Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Albert Camus, Jean Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir. [This course is an Honors course; see Honors information for details.] Prerequisite: Humanities 2

Is human behavior determined by nature or nurture? Do we have free will? Are we more inclined to evil or good? What role did evolution have in shaping human nature? What roles do culture and the environment play? In this course, we grapple with some of the most enduring and confounding questions about humanity. This class is designed as a survey of introductions to many different disciplines, including units on theology, philosophy, biology, anthropology, psychology, and sociology. Core texts and authors may include Christian scripture, philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, Mencius, Zunxi, Confucius, Hobbes, Sigmund Freud, Jane Goodall, and William Golding's Lord of the Flies. If you are curious about what scientists, religious practitioners, and philosophers have to say about humans, this is the class for you. Be prepared to try on new and unfamiliar ideas about yourself and the world. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

What is the proper role of religion in public life? Why does the United States allow religion to play such a prominent role in public life, unlike other industrial democracies? To what extent does religion inform and shape American political culture and institutions? What role do religious beliefs have in shaping the formation of a public policy? From exploring the founders’ views to tracing the growth of religious behavior and diversity as far as the 1960s Civil Rights movement, students examine the dynamics between church and state. Later in the term, we explore the role of religion in election cycles beginning in 1980. Culminating with in-depth study of landmark Supreme Court First Amendment cases, students deepen their understanding of religion’s role in the U.S. political system and society, becoming more informed voters in the process. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

In this course, inspired by Dr. Laurie Santos’ class “Psychology and The Good Life,” students examine what it means to live “The Good Life” by reading philosophical texts, essays, and works of fiction. Key topics will include the nature of happiness in our modern world, cognitive and emotional well-being, emotional agility, self-examination, and social justice. Throughout the course, students will engage in large and small group discussions and dramatic activities. They will write analytical and creative pieces, and will engage in introspective exercises and projects to help them learn and practice skills to lead a more meaningful life. Potential thinkers/authors include Aristotle, Plato, Epictetus, William B. Irvine, Brenè Brown, Susan David, Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckhart Tolle, Jonathan Haidt, Paulo Coelho, Henrik Ibsen, David Sedaris, Mindy Kaling, and Rachel Bloom. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

This 9th-grade core Humanities immersive focuses on immigration—and the impact of economics, politics, geography, and society on a family’s decision to emigrate from their home countries. Through Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario, students learn about the benefits and drawbacks of immigrating to the U.S., from the harrowing journey itself, to the separation of families, to finding one’s way once an individual arrives in the United States. Students have the opportunity to better understand an immigrant’s experience through in-depth research, conducting an interview, and writing a narrative of the immigrant’s experiences—either of the journey itself, or making a life here in the United States, or any combination thereof. Through listening to and recording (both audio and written) the stories of others, we learn that diversity begins with the experiences of individuals. Essential questions guiding the course include: How does immigration shape and impact a community? How do people from diverse communities connect to each other and to the communities where they live? How do we develop mutual trust? Prerequisite: Humanities 1B

This 10th-grade core Humanities immersive seeks to answer the question: Why do we still read Shakespeare? Students practice critical reading and analysis by engaging directly with two of Shakespeare’s plays. Steeped in Shakespeare’s language and style, students study various adaptations of these plays, from classic, true-to-the-original adaptations to those loose adaptations that permeate contemporary pop culture. Students work both individually and collaboratively to identify and articulate themes and values from Shakespeare’s original texts that translate to later adaptations. With these themes and values in mind, students begin developing their own adaptations of one of Shakespeare’s plays; in the process, students work with Bay Area theater professionals to expand their skill sets and gain exposure to acting, directing, and performance studies. By the end of this course, students will have performed and unpacked a monologue of their choice, and imagined, designed, and executed a Shakespearean adaptation unbound from its original historical context. Prerequisite: Humanities 2A

Contemporary Art takes a diversity of stylistic approaches to interpreting our world from the super-realistic to the expressively abstract and from the politically charged to the evocation of overwhelming beauty. What kind of art are you drawn to? This course uses the rich collections of the art museums of San Francisco as its classrooms. These museums reveal the evolution of Modern Art from the nursery school of Realism into the elementary schools of Spiritual Expressionism and Formal Abstraction, growing into the exciting diversity of approaches in Contemporary Art. Students will develop an understanding of the strategies of modern painters, sculptors, photographers, and architects via the lenses of close study of the art and researching 20th century art movements. Most importantly, students will make art that mimics the strategies of early 20th century sculptors, painters, and photographers. By putting themselves into Modern artists’ shoes, and mimicking their artistic practices, students will invigorate their understanding of this revolutionary period in art history. In the end, students will see how Contemporary artists interpret the world—its politics, its beauties, its tragedies—and will develop their own personal languages for reinventing their own worlds. No prerequisite.

The Bay Area is home to an amazing food scene. From the variety of farms to the amazing diversity of restaurants, the Bay Area is foodie heaven! There are also a lot of questions about how and what we eat, as well as, what's happening with the people who grow and prepare our food. This course seeks to help us understand where our food comes from, how it gets to us, and what the future of food might be. Students will visit with people and places engaged in the modern food chain such as growers, farmers, farm laborers, distributors, inventors, scientists, food justice advocates, and chefs as we look at questions of sustainability, identity, nutrition, food politics, and taste. Essential questions include: What is factory farming? Is there any future for the family farm? For the planet, should we all be vegan? How did science and modern food change our palates? Is a $200/person meal ethical?  What defines a "nutritious meal," and is that available to everyone equally? What is the role of food in identity? in "othering?" What is the role of grocery stores and food marketing (social media) in helping to define our tastes? What does it really mean to "eat local?" There will be local field trips, interviews, and the opportunity to cook! Students will also "consume" various media on food, from essays to podcasts to book excerpts. The course will culminate in a Food Symposium where students will share their research and position on an essential Bay Area food question. No prerequisite.

The essence of Buddhism is to awaken, to be free in the midst of this changing world. Buddhism has a long and rich history from ancient India to the Bay Area. Students study that history with an emphasis on how Buddhism has impacted the West, revolutionizing disciplines from neuroscience and psychology to education. This class is experiential; it offers teachings and skills that give students a chance to change the way they perceive themselves and their world—to see more clearly and be more authentic. Topics of study include Buddhist ethics, The Two Truths, The Eightfold Path, The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, and the profound teaching of Dependent Origination. To understand these concepts, students spend time practicing mindfulness meditation, reading primary sources and practitioners’ perspectives, visiting local Buddhist communities to hear from practitioners, and applying their understanding and knowledge to academics, personal experiences, and the everyday world. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

This course is a historical and socio-cultural analysis of some of the significant people, places, and events of America’s Civil Rights Movement. At the center of this course is the notion that “place” is vital to understanding. Therefore, this course largely takes place in the American South, learning from the historical sites that generated and propelled the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of the possible locations the class will visit include Martin Luther King Jr.’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama where the late John Lewis led Civil Rights protestors across the bridge in 1965. This course will provide a foundation for the academic study of the Civil Rights Movement, with a particular focus on the historical and contemporary implications of the movement within the context of social justice and community-building. Students will be able to contextualize other social movements of the 20th century and recognize the importance of those movements in today’s society. This course will employ various learning/teaching methodologies, including immersion, close reading, visual analysis, presentation, critical thinking, and writing. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

*This course meets Bay’s Ethnic Studies designation.

Poet Rainer Maria Rilke encouraged readers to “be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves…Live the questions.” This course will explore film as a 20th and 21st century medium to love and live timeless questions. Students will view, write about, and discuss a selection of fiction and documentary films, analyzing the techniques that filmmakers use to tell their stories through sight and sound. Students will ultimately produce a brief video essay in which they describe how filmic techniques advance inquiry of an essential question in a film of their choosing. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

Flying cars? Mars colonies? Underground houses? Strawberries the size of apples? How did people in the past imagine the future? Why did they get things so absurdly wrong? What did they get uncannily right? What can we learn from these conjectures about the course of history? How can we make more insightful predictions and better prepare for our own future? This class will explore the history of the future through literature and film; visit places where formerly cutting-edge technologies are being kept alive; examine the connections that link technologies like the wine press, loom, printed book, and computer; and engage in the process of “strategic foresight” to make our own predictions about the year 2056 and beyond. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

How many times have we mistrusted, ignored, judged, or made assumptions about someone because we don’t understand their culture or background? To learn how culture influences thinking and behavior, students begin by reflecting on their own personal narrative around culture. They also learn how to carefully observe human interactions in natural environments and analyze these observations to recognize and remove assumptions connected to culture, ethnicity, nationality, etc. Students in this course develop the skills to better appreciate the individuals that make up our society and to find solutions that address the complexity of interactions in a multi-cultural community. By the end of the course, students are able to challenge assumptions about other cultures and formulate possible solutions supported by informed and responsible decision-making. No prerequisite.

This course examines different family structures and dynamics through American visual art, literature, television, film, and various forms of nonfiction. Students explore how gender roles have changed throughout history and have been socially constructed. Exposure to the different interpretations of family encourages students to understand their own family makeup and their place in it. Class sessions include field trips, visiting artists, making art, looking at art, writing, reflecting, analyzing and decoding readings, and identifying the different constructs that exist in a household. Essential questions guiding the course of study include: How have artists, writers, film-makers, and musicians explored family dynamics in their work? How do various representations of family structures/dynamics help us understand our own definition of family and our role in it? Prerequisite: Humanities 2

Do you like the movie or the book better? In this course, students examine how stories change. In the first part of the course, students watch a movie based on mythology and then find the oldest source material for the myth. How did the story change? And why? Students then retell the story using the artistic medium of their choice. In the second part of the course, students choose a text that they like that is based on a myth and research the source material. How old is the myth? What different versions are there? In their final projects, students make a final piece of art: music, dance, painting, or whatever they like, in order to show what the story means to them. Prerequisite: Humanities 2 

Why do we read? In today’s fast-paced, data-driven, screen-dominated world, how do we read? To help us answer these questions, this course trades classrooms for campsites and heads outside with novels in our packs. Students read two novels centered on a common theme while building backcountry skills, including hiking and camping. Without technology, our days in the wilderness provide space for students to engage deeply with full-length novels by learning to pace their own reading to build more sophisticated understandings of texts over time. In our stints back on campus, students dive into writing projects, and, with teacher support, learn to craft meaningful, well-supported arguments about literature. Students enrolling in this course should be prepared for challenging days in the backcountry (rain or shine!) and evenings spent reading by headlamp. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

In this course, students will write and read widely, exploring various aspects of poetic craft, including imagery, metaphor, line, stanza, music, rhythm, diction, and tone. The course will focus primarily on the rich and varied tradition of American and British poets, with a special emphasis on contemporary poets exploring the intersections of cultural identity, nationhood, race, gender, and sexuality. The first half of the course will consist of close reading of a selection of poems, while the second half of the course will consist of workshopping student writing. Through peer critique, students will respond closely to the work of fellow writers in a supportive workshop. No prerequisite.

San Francisco has the highest wealth inequality in the nation and we will investigate why. Author and activist Bryan Stevenson says “the opposite of poverty is justice.” We will imagine together what justice would look like in our city. This course will also examine the racial wealth gap, homelessness (or houselessness), substance use, and intersectionality. Why are some people wealthy while others are homeless? What can be done to solve the homelessness crisis? Students will investigate the causes and consequences of wealth inequality. Focusing on homelessness (or houselessness) in the Bay Area as a case study, students will become more familiar with the economic and social structures that exacerbate an increasingly dramatic gap between rich and poor, while reflecting on their own relationship to economic class. Students will spend several days engaged in solidarity service learning in the Tenderloin neighborhood, and have opportunities to meet and learn from a broad range of experts. Course activities include service work, emotional literacy training, problem-based inquiry, restorative justice circles, reading, writing, and discussion. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

In this course, students will be introduced to the theories and practice of argumentation and competitive debate. This course will focus on the construction of arguments from the research to the presentation. We will learn how Aristotle’s concepts of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos can be applied to persuasion. We will also explore different models of competitive debate available to high school students, including: Policy Debate, Public Forum Debate, Congressional Debate, and Lincoln-Douglas Debate. We also hope (schedule permitting) to have the opportunity to attend a local debate competition on one of the weekends during the immersive term. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

Using local literature as a vehicle for exploration into San Francisco’s diverse nonconformist communities, students in this course compose fictional short stories that construct creative counter-narratives to develop a more complex understanding of the human experience in San Francisco. Students scrutinize nuances of narrative writing, participate in workshops and discussions, and read a variety of historical fiction and nonfiction texts. From Chinatown to the Mission District, from Haight-Ashbury to the Castro, students explore the places they are reading about, as they read them, in order to literally walk in the shoes of a story’s characters. Likewise, the story each student shares for Exhibition will immerse their audience in the city setting by capturing the spirit and ethos of their assigned neighborhood community. Essential questions include: What impact does the setting of San Francisco have on local writers’ narrative storytelling? How can we learn to contribute to this genre and encourage our readers to think critically about the city they study or live in? Prerequisite: Humanities 2

This course offers a thematic exploration of the evolution of the book, tracing its development from manuscript traditions to contemporary multimedia forms. Students will read and analyze a range of literary forms, including digitized manuscripts such as William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, hits from the popular book market such as Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, and innovative media such as zines, podcasts, and book art. This unique immersive experience includes conducting literary research in library archives (online and in-person), producing art and creative writing in studio, and culminating with a visit to the Art of the Book exhibit.  Prerequisite: Humanities 2

This interdisciplinary course delves into the multifaceted history and impact of the California Gold Rush, blending elements of geology, environmental science, and humanities. Students will explore the geological processes that led to the formation of gold deposits, examine the environmental consequences of the Gold Rush, and analyze the profound human and societal changes that occurred during this transformative period in California's history. This course aims to provide students with a holistic understanding of the California Gold Rush, encouraging critical thinking, interdisciplinary connections, and a deeper appreciation for the complexities of historical events and their enduring impacts on society and the environment. Prerequisites: Chemistry 1, Humanities 2

*This course meets Bay’s Ethnic Studies designation.

How are newspaper crosswords made? What vocabulary, language, and structure choices make crossword puzzles satisfying to solve? In this course, students will solve crosswords, construct crosswords, and investigate the cultural history of the crossword puzzle in the United States. We will find out historically who has gotten to write the crossword puzzles and who the crossword puzzle has represented. Each student will construct their own crossword puzzle and submit it for publication. We will view the construction as a creative project, with feedback cycles, revisions, and editing. Puzzles will be written for a variety of audiences, and students will practice soliciting, receiving, and incorporating feedback. This course will involve reading and writing: students will read books, articles, columns, and blogs in preparation for discussions. Students will learn how to write effective clues using grammatical conventions for various audiences. They will also write longer form pieces, including but not limited to constructor’s statements, reviews, and essays. Prerequisite: Humanities 2

In this interdisciplinary math and social studies course, students explore voting and representation, the fundamental features of democratic government, through a mathematical lens. Students learn about the history of representational government as well as analyze current election and representation systems. The course examines a variety of voting and representation schemes that are currently in use or that have been proposed, and looks at how these methods influence election strategies and outcomes. In addition to democratic systems themselves, students learn how representation is distributed to each state and how changes in the creation of districts may influence the outcome of elections. Essential questions guiding our study include: What is the function of representation in a democracy? How can/should groups of people make decisions? How can an individual make an impact on policy? No prerequisite.

Whose water is it? This essential question drives this project-based, interdisciplinary course. We use the tools of science and humanities to investigate the myriad ways in which humans rely on water, the political, economic, and ethical issues stemming from our basic need for water, and how our quest for this critical resource has led us to re-engineer natural ecosystems. Looking through a scientific lens, we examine the natural features and processes that determine the extreme variability of water availability in the western United States and consider how human use of water resources impacts biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Drawing on the humanities, we consider the historical and contemporary politics of water access, the ways western settlement shaped current water policy, and the changes in policy and values required for sustainable water use in the future. This course will address the questions above through an in-depth exploration of a particular region of the American West, the eastern Sierra Nevada region of California. Our headquarters throughout most of this course will be the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab (SNARL), located several miles east of Mammoth Lakes, CA. SNARL is an active research laboratory run by the University of California Natural Reserve System, and is relatively close to iconic features in the story of western water such as Mono Lake, Owens Lake, and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Students enrolling in this course should expect daily field trips, active participation in research and restoration projects, nightly discussions, presentations, and quizzes. In addition, time will be devoted most days to completing small group projects and reading assignments. We will be staying for two weeks in the dorm facilities at SNARL, and doing our own shopping and cooking. Prerequisites: Humanities 2, Conceptual Physics 1, Chemistry 1