1047y / 1048y-H

Humanities

Full Year / 1 Credit / Grades 11, 12

Prerequisite Standard Level:

Grade of B- or above in 10^th grade English and Social Studies.

Prerequisite Honors Level:

Students who wish to take the course for Honors credit must complete all assigned honors summer work and receive teacher recommendation based on Q1 performance and grade (minimum B+) in Humanities. Honors Placement is finalized after Q1.

Course Description:

This team-taught, two-year interdisciplinary course focuses on the literature, history and art of particular historical periods: Classical Greece, Byzantium, the Renaissance, and Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Europe. Each period is studied through the great works that it produced and the people who produced them. These civilizations are studied with concern for the great themes that surface repeatedly. Students will develop their critical thinking skills through a variety of written assignments, oral presentations and creative projects. Students may choose to take the course for one or both years of the two-year cycle and may choose to earn either English or Social Studies credit. A unique feature of the course is the opportunity for extensive field study. There are several required field study trips within Greece, and one optional trip each year to either France or Italy.

Year one of Humanities (to be offered 2019-2020) focuses on the question “What Makes Us Human?” This question is explored with particular focus on Ancient Greece, The Age of Reason, the Neo-Classical and Romantic period, and the 20^th Century.

An ACS Athens Scholar Diploma core course

Expanded Description:

In both Year One and Year Two of the Humanities course there is emphasis on the importance of art and architecture in the study of civilizations. Students supplement their classroom work with field study at a variety of sites.

In Year One of Humanities (offered 2019-2020) students will participate during the first semester in several field study trips that focus on their study of Ancient Greece. These are required field study experiences, and they include visits to the National Archaeological Museum, the Acropolis site and Museum, and the site of ancient Delphi. In the second semester of Year One students have the option of participating in the class field study trip to France, where they will add to their understanding of French art and architecture from the 18th - 20th centuries.

Year Two of Humanities (to be offered 2020-2021) focuses on the question “What Gives Life Meaning?” This question is explored through the study of the literature, history and art of Byzantium, the Islamic World, Medieval Europe and the Italian Renaissance.

In the first semester of Year Two there are several mandatory field study experiences within Greece: the Byzantine and Christian Museum, the Museum of Islamic Art, Kaisariani Monastery, and the Byzantine city of Mistras. In the second semester students have the option of participating in the class field study trip to Italy, where they will add to their understanding of the art and architecture of the Italian Renaissance.