History: Latin America One Semester (Offered First Semester) Prerequisites: None
History: Stagecraft One Semester (Offered Second Semester) Prerequisites: None Theatrical design is collaborative, practical, and interdisciplinary. In this course, we will design the set, lights, costumes, props, and sound for a production of a Shakespeare play, beginning with script analysis and ending with the production. Students will learn the basics of stagecraft, research the rich history of technical theater, and form artistic interpretations of the chosen text based on their reading and research. All students will work together to create a design gallery to accompany the performance, with social studies students taking the lead on research and writing and art students taking the lead on designing the gallery’s visual elements. As this course is part of the Liggett Shakespeare Project, students will collaborate with classmates in the Shakespeare: Dramaturgy course and the Liggett Players. Stagecraft students will be responsible for completing the production design and constructing some elements of the sets, props, and costumes. Special guests to the class will include professional designers and technical staff. Seniors who opt to complete all three parts of the Liggett Shakespeare Project (Dramaturgy, Stagecraft, and Production) in a single year may be approved to waive enrollment in ARP 12.
Latin America is unlike any other region in our planet’s history: separated for centuries from Afro-Eurasia, when the two hemispheres finally reunited the people of the Americas experienced apocalyptic catastrophe. But out of the ashes arose a plethora of entirely new cultures composed of Old and New World characteristics. The road to today has not always been smooth for the people living here. After conquest by the Spanish and Portuguese was completed, colonies soon began to dream of independence, which they eventually gained. However, self-autonomy proved just as rocky of a road as conquest, and as the twentieth century progressed, many nations suffered economic, social, and political woes. This class will examine Latin American history after 1492 CE, but will focus on three particular eras: conquest and colonization, the struggle for independence, and modern authoritarianism. The class will also take a different approach to texts: students will read a historical fiction novel, written by a contemporary author, and synthesize the themes and messages they convey. Text: Esquivel, Laura. Malinche. New York: Washington Square Press, 2006. ISBN: 0743290356
History: Topics in Modern Africa One Semester (Offered Second Semester) Prerequisites: None
History: Origins of Civilization One Semester (Offered Second Semester) Prerequisites: None
History loves its diametrics: historical events often demonstrate the best and worst humanity has to offer. Amidst some of the worst of human behavior (oppression, murder), paragons of the best human behavior (compassion, forgiveness) arise. In this course, students will examine some of the most troubling events in modern African history — racial segregation, genocide, and the exploitation of children. Told through the memoirs of those who lived the history themselves, students will develop their historical understanding and explore worthy questions. Through a variety of activities, students will construct and illuminate a deeper understanding of birth, growth, emotion, aspiration, conflict, and mortality— what is commonly referred to as “the human condition.” Texts: Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk To Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1995. Ilibagiza, Immaculee with Steve Erwin. Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. Carlsbad: Hay House, Inc., 2014. Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: Sarah Crichton Books, 2007.
Civilization has been our way of life for thousands of years now, and as a result we do not think much about how or why we transitioned to it from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The eighteenth century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau noted that, “man was born free and everywhere he is in chains,” arguing that our agreement to live in civilization sacrifices at least a portion of that natural-born freedom. Other philosophers, like Thomas Hobbes, disagreed, choosing to believe that our species is better off in civilization than before when life was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Transitioning from hunting and gathering to agriculture was no simple change; it revolutionized our way of life. What is the nature of humankind? Are humans inherently good or bad? Why did humans give up the hunting and gathering lifestyle? Why were rules and laws created? Why did our species enter into a social contract in which we give up certain rights and freedoms? This course will seek to infer answers to these questions and more. Texts: Golding, William. The Inheritors. London, UK: Faber & Faber, 2015. ISBN 978-0571329090; Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. London, UK: Penguin Books, 2003. ISBN 978-0399501487
2025-2026 ULS Curriculum Guide
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