Units of Study
SEMESTER 1:
Conquest & Slavery:
Students are first introduced to the concept of conquest & slavery through an exploration of The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Students then explore this topic through the development and performance of a mock trial civil suit: Native Americans v. The Europeans. Finally, students meet with UNICEF representatives to discuss human trafficking in the world and in the Bay Area and how to help respond to this present day form of oppression.
Cultural Imperialism in Asia: Students explore the history of cultural imperialism and gain an understanding of rhetorical devices through the creation of a persuasive commercial: As either the Dutch or the British enticing an Asian country of their choosing to do business with them.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley offers thematic links to concepts discussed in this unit: culture and propaganda.
As a modern connection to cultural imperialism, students also write and publish editorials, expressing their researched opinions on the topic of gentrification in the modern world
SEMESTER 2:
Societal Oppression & Global Global Inequality: Effects of the Industrial Revolution: The Industrial Revolution had extraordinary and permanent effects on global society, including migration, urbanization, and human rights. Through the course study, students gain an understanding of the potential bias in many textbooks. With that foundation of understanding, the class as a whole writes their own Industrial Revolution iBook textbook. Individual, small groups self-select chapters to write and format.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is read in companion to the study. Modern connections include tours of modern factories, and discussions on the exploitation of many workers in the manufacturing of items commonly consumed by Americans. The class decides on an effective way to integrate both Frankenstein and their understanding of modern industrialization into their textbook content and design.
Genocide: World Wars: Students read and study Night by Elie Weisel as a piece of art that brings meaning and humanity to a meaningless and inhumane part of history. Without the masterful employment of rhetorical devices (literary devices) by the author, this novel, or any great text, would not have the impact it has had and continues to have since its first publication.
By studying HOW the author chose to write his story, students come closer to understanding this man, the skill of writing, and his story better. Students produce a creative presentation of their choosing to best demonstrate their understanding of genocide and the techniques employed to tell the story of Night. Throughout this unit, students research and present informative and engaging talks on recent or on-going genocides.
Ideological Oppression: Cold War: The United Nations was established in 1945 to create a forum for international conversation. In this unit students represent a country in a classroom-sized recreation of the UN. Each student presents a speech from a particular perspective on the effects of the Cold War on their chosen country. Extensive research and a study of rhetorical devices and speechmaking informs the student final product.
Institutional Oppression: The Age of Enlightenment: A study of allegory and symbolism in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery as well as its thematic link to institutional oppression kicks off this unit. Students take on the persona of an enlightenment thinker in order to apply for a job at a lobbying firm; this firm is looking for a tech-savvy consultant, who questions and challenges the oppressive roles of institutions.
Through the creation of a talk show, twitter handle (with regular tweets out), resume, and cover letter, students demonstrate their understanding of The Enlightenment period and their chosen philosoph. Modern connections include discussions on the US judicial system with Black Lives Matter representatives and a San Francisco public defender.
Revolution: Revolution has become an almost commonplace occurrence in our world. Dickens explores the idea and cause of revolution in his novel Tale of Two Cities, but is he correct in his beliefs regarding revolution? Students explore revolution in small groups throughout the course of this unit, gathering research and developing assertions on this topic. The group's findings are published as a newspaper: