Humanities

Prerequisite: Students must apply to be in the program and must qualify for English 1 Honors through results of their HSPT test.

This year-long course explores the beginnings of poetry, narrative, and drama in Western civilization. The first semester guides students through representative works of ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian literature, followed by ancient Greek epic literature and drama. The second semester continues the study of Greek drama, examines the seminal literary works of ancient Rome, and culminates with the study of a novel that integrates key elements of the religious and philosophical traditions of ancient peoples. Throughout the course, students will consider how these great texts illuminate our understanding of God and humankind. Writing instruction begins with a five-paragraph essay in the first semester and focuses on style and coherence. Honors students are expected to delve more deeply into textual analysis and demonstrate limited usage errors. The course includes bi-weekly vocabulary and grammar lessons.

• Homework expectation: 45 minutes per day, can include weekends and breaks
• Summer Assignment Required: Due on the 1st day of class
• Year
• 10 Credits
• UC Approved
• NCAA Approved

How Humanities 1 Honors (English) differs from English 1 Honors:

• Humanities 1 Honors (English) focuses on the literary heritage of the ancient cultures that preceded and influenced Western Christianity; most of the texts are ancient and written in poetic form. English 1H is a genre-survey course that contains a mix of modern and ancient texts, including poetic works, but also multiple novels and short stories.
• Humanities 1 Honors (English) employs the Socratic Method teaching style more often: open-ended class discussion, often with students and teacher sitting in circle as peers, with heavy expectation on student-led dialogue and an emphasis on analysis and comparison of texts. English 1H employs periodic Socratic method with less analysis and integration, relying more on teacher-led instruction.
• Students in Humanities 1 Honors (English) will be expected to do a substantial amount of independent reading to consider the development of literature over time and its significance for our understanding of our cultural origins and theology.

Prerequisite: Students must apply to be in the program and must qualify for English 1 Honors through results of their HSPT test.

This year-long course explores the origins of Christianity and the roots of theological thought in Western civilization. In the first semester, students will learn about the foundations of Hebrew and Greek culture through selective reading of the Old Testament. In the second half of the course, students will develop the art of philosophical inquiry, logical reasoning, and critical thinking through close readings of numerous primary sources from Ancient philosophers (e.g., Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle). The course will culminate with an examination of contemporary texts that highlight the values that have most shaped the course of Christian history. The course  incorporates substantial use of the Socratic method.

• Homework expectation: 25 to 35 minutes per day
• Year
• 10 Credits

How  Humanities 1 Honors (Theology) differs from Theology 1:

• Humanities 1 (Theology) is an honors-level class that appeals to students who demonstrate advanced critical thinking and intend to participate in active, purposeful discussion.
• Humanities 1 (Theology) begins the first semester by reading 16 of the 46 books of the Old Testament that give a cohesive narrative of salvation history and a foundation for Hebrew Culture. Theology 1 does not include a study of the Old Testament.
• Humanities 1 (Theology) reads primary sources from the philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle while Theology 1 explores modern-day worldviews.
• Humanities 1 (Theology) includes reading contemporary works from authors such as C.S. Lewis, Peter Kreeft, and other contemporary Catholic authors, while Theology 1 does not incorporate primary sources into its year-long curriculum.
• Humanities 1 (Theology) students will be expected to do a substantial amount of independent reading and annotating and must desire to dive more deeply in philosophical discussion.
• Humanities 1 Honors (Theology) students can expect to do 2-3 hours of work a week, which includes weekend reading. Theology 1 students can expect between 1-2 hours weekly.

Prerequisite: Students must qualify for English 2 Honors. Although completion of Humanities 1 English Honors is preferred, students are allowed to transfer into year 2 of this program, provided prerequisites are met and the student's application is approved by the program director.

This year-long course continues the four-year Humanities narrative, examining the characteristics of the flourishing of Christian culture. It begins by exploring the poetry, narrative, and drama that stretch from the Post-Apostolic Age and into the 19th Century. This first semester takes students on a tour of primary texts from the Early Church in the first generations after Christ, followed by notable poetic works that give insights into medieval culture and piety. Semester 2 continues to explore the marks of high Christian culture. The semester also focuses heavily on writing. It begins with a research paper, but then moves through novel, play, and fairy tales that integrate key elements of the religious and philosophical traditions of Christian Europe. Throughout the course, students will consider how these great texts illuminate our understanding of God, humankind, and what it means to live in Christian community. Writing instruction will develop the five-paragraph essay in the first semester and focus later on argument. Students are expected to delve deeper into textual analysis and demonstrate limited usage errors in their writing.

• Homework expectation: 45 minutes per day, can include weekends and breaks
• Summer Assignment Required: Due on the 1st day of class
• Year
• 10 Credits
• UC Approved
• NCAA Approved

How Humanities 2 Honors (English) differs from English 2 Honors:

• CHOSEN TEXTS
  • English 2H Humanities focuses on the literary heritage of Western Christianity not only for “the attainment of knowledge” but all the more for “the acquisition of values and the discovery of truth” (The Catholic School 39). Most of the texts for English 2H Humanities are Medieval in chronology or tone; they include The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Dante’s Inferno, and Kristen Lavransdatter. The texts are primarily epic poetry with one novel, a Shakespeare play, and some shorter works. The texts are meant to help students trace in history and themselves the “synthesis of culture and faith, and a synthesis of faith and life” (The Catholic School 37).
  • English 2H contains a mix of world literature texts. The first semester includes A Tale of Two Cities and Night, with substantial focus on the Genocide Research Paper. The second semester reflects upon the changing worldview through three seminal works: The Iliad, Julius Caesar and Dante’s Inferno. The second semester also includes a poetry unit.
• TEACHING STYLE
  • Literature encourages contemplation that guides students “beyond mere words to the heart of total Truth” (The Catholic School 41). To accomplish this, English 2H Humanities often employs the Socratic Method teaching style. Class discussions are held with students and teacher sitting in circle as peers, with heavy expectation on student-led dialogue and an emphasis on analysis and comparison of texts. The Humanities class size caps at 20 students.
  • English 2H employs a more traditional pedagogical approach, with teacher-led instruction and full-class discussions, close reading activities, small group collaboration, and annotation modeling.
• CATHOLICITY MESSAGING
  • The English 2H Humanities teacher works in tandem with the Theology 2H Humanities teacher to ensure each Humanities student takes an active role in his/her own maturity so that s/he may take one’s place as an “active member of the community of man” (The Catholic School 39). English 2H Humanities makes explicit connections to Catholicity and the pursuit of absolute truth as students explore the development of literature over time, and its impact on man’s understanding of himself and the world.
  • English 2H also teaches literature with an emphasis on the Sacramental worldview. Students learn lessons of sinfulness and virtue through the behaviors of characters in the text. However, English 2H practices implicit methods of messaging, with the same goal of creating students to be the best versions of themselves and defenders of the faith.

Prerequisite: Students must qualify for English 2 Honors.

This year-long course continues to take a deep dive into what comprises a flourishing Christian culture. Students begin with the foundation of all authentic Christianity: Christ Himself. In the first semester they will explore the four Gospels, with an emphasis on the Gospel of Luke, synthesizing their understanding of Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the complete revelation of God. In the second half of the course, students will engage with various texts and accounts tracking the early development of Christianity as it strove to establish itself in a pagan culture, such as the writings of St. Paul and the Church Fathers. The course culminates in an examination of the spread and flourishing of Christianity up to the high Middle Ages. Students will continue to engage in Socratic methodology and sharpen their skills of critical thinking, logical reasoning, philosophical inquiry, and collaborative dialogue.

*Though completion of Humanities 1 (Theology) Honors is preferred, students are allowed to transfer into year 2 of this program, provided prerequisites are met and the student’s application is approved by the program director.

• Homework expectation: 25 to 50 minutes per day, including weekend reading
• Year
• 10 Credits
• UC Approved

How Humanities 2 (Theology) Honors differs from Theology 2:

• Humanities 2 (Theology) is an honors-level class that appeals to students who demonstrate advanced critical thinking and intend to participate in active, purposeful discussion.
• Humanities 2 (Theology) begins the first semester by reading the entirety of the Gospel of Luke, and many portions of the other synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John. Theology 2 students (both CP and Honors levels) have not studied the Old Testament yet, and so begin their course work there.
• Humanities 2 (Theology) reads primary sources from the philosophers and Church fathers, such as Aristotle, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Augustine while Theology 2 remains completely focused on Scripture in the Old and New Testaments. Humanities 2 (Theology) students will be expected to do a substantial amount of independent reading and annotating and must desire to dive more deeply in philosophical discussion.

Humanities 2 Honors (Theology) students can expect to do 2-4 hours of work a week, which includes weekend reading. Theology 2 students can expect between 1-2 hours weekly.

Prerequisites: Minimum B in the first semester and third quarter of English 2H or minimum A in the first semester and third quarter of English 2. Transfer students must pass a placement test.

This course continues the tradition of the JSerra Humanities program by coordinating the Classical pedagogy of the Trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) with the AP Language and Composition framework. Stemming from the sacramental worldview, it is a year-long course designed to mirror a freshman-level college English course. This course challenges students to critically and comprehensively analyze selective works of fiction and non-fiction. Students will learn to recognize and analyze form, content, and style and to master their control of both using and deciphering language, style, and diction in writing. The course emphasizes critical thinking, writing, vocabulary development, grammatical accuracy, and research techniques using texts and excerpts from the late Medieval period through the Enlightenment, with a thematic focus on Modernism and its impact on the Christian culture of the West. Students will employ their skills in several types of writing: rhetorical analysis, synthesis and argument. Most importantly, as a JSerra Humanities class, this course challenges students to consider how these texts illuminate our understanding of God, humankind, and the marks of a Christian culture.

• Homework Expectation: 45 to 60 minutes per day, can include weekends and breaks
• Summer Assignment Required: Due on 1st day of class
• AP Exam Required: $105 Fee
• Year
• 10 Credits
• UC Approved
• NCAA Approval

How Humanities 3 / AP English Language differs from AP English Language:

• In continuation of the JSerra Humanities tradition, Humanities students engage often in dialectic analysis (i.e., Socratic seminar) that leads to student-led discovery. The AP English Language course employs more traditional and varied teaching methods.
• Humanities 3 /AP Language text selections will differ from AP English Language in their focus on Catholic Worldview and revelation of truth, goodness, and beauty found within the time period from the late Middle Ages through the Enlightenment.
• Structure: Whereas the AP English Language units are structured to dive directly into a study of the three types of modes students are expected to master (Synthesis, Rhetorical Analysis and Argument), The Humanities 3/AP English Language class begins with the Trivium (material logic and grammar) as a basis for understanding the same modes.

How Humanities 3 /AP English Language differs from English 3:

• AP Language is a completely different curriculum that follows the standards prescribed by the AP College Board.
• AP Language is not a literary analysis course. Instead, it explores the rhetoric, reasoning, organization, and style of exclusively non-fiction texts, such as The Abolition of Man, Outliers, and The Things They Carried. Students think deeply about language as a persuasive tool and about the dynamic relationship of writer, context, audience, and argument.
• Students who opt to take AP Language may not be exposed to the classic works of American Literature in their high school tenure.
• AP Language emphasizes writing as primary assessment. Students produce written work (both on-demand and process papers) on a weekly basis. Students are expected to demonstrate sophisticated writing skills with a strong grasp of structure, style, vocabulary, and cohesion.
• Be advised that a student coming from English 2 to AP Language makes a two-level leap in rigor and expectation. AP is not a high school honors class; it is a college-level class.

Prerequisite: Students must qualify for English 3 Honors. Though completion of Humanities 2 (Theology) Honors is preferred, students are allowed to transfer into year 3 of this program, provided prerequisites are met and the student’s application is approved by the program director.

Humanities 3 (Theology) Honors continues the program's historical trajectory through the Renaissance and into the Modern period, with a focus on the saints from that era who made the biggest impact on culture, and the theological writings that made the Catholic faith most compelling.

Semester 1 explores in greater depth the meaning of the Sacramental Worldview and equips students to recognize it more easily in the world around them, in their daily interactions, and in the subject matters they study. The content of the Semester 1 focuses on the centrality of the sacraments to our life in Christ, how and why he gave them to the Church, and the manner in which they act as primary channels of his grace.

Semester 2 introduces students to the beauty and relevance of the moral life, emphasizing its significant role in human happiness and flourishing. Students will come to understand the relationship between the good, the true, and the beautiful in the lived experience of acting in accord with the teachings of Christ and the joy of living as sons and daughters of God. Throughout the semester, students will come to understand and articulate the "why" behind the Church's most fundamental moral doctrines.

*Though completion of Humanities 2 (Theology) Honors is preferred, students are allowed to transfer into year 3 of this program, provided prerequisites are met and the student's application is approved by the program director.

• Homework expectation: 25 to 50 minutes per day, including weekend reading.
• Year
• 10 Credits

How Humanities 3 (Theology) Honors differs from Theology 3 CP and Honors:

• Humanities 3 (Theology) is an honors-level class that appeals to students who demonstrate advanced critical thinking and intend to participate in active, purposeful discussion.
• Humanities 3 (Theology) uses the Socratic method as its primary and fundamental mode of instruction and has formal Socratic seminars once a week to every two weeks. Power Points are rarely, if ever used, for teaching and learning. Theology 3 students (both CP and Honors levels) may be exposed to Socratic method now and then, but these classes do not have formal Socratic seminars. Power Point is used regularly in CP and Honors.
• Humanities 3 (Theology) reads primary sources from the philosophers and Church fathers and relies heavily on student participation and daily group conversation.
• Humanities 3 (Theology) approaches the sacraments and moral theology by using other non-textbook sources, including excerpts from writings of the Renaissance and Modern time periods, as well as fiction such as short stories and poetry.
• Humanities 3 (Theology) students will be expected to do a substantial amount of independent reading and annotating and must desire to dive more deeply in philosophical discussion.
• Humanities 3 Honors (Theology) students can expect to do 2-4 hours of work a week, which includes weekend reading. Theology 3 CP and Honors students can expect between 1-2 hours weekly.

The Humanities /AP English Literature course is a continuation of the Humanities narrative, designed to mirror the rigor and intellectual challenges of a college-level introductory English course. It emphasizes the study of literature from the late 19th century to the 21st century, including fiction, short stories, and poetry, to complement the AP Exam requirements and the chronological trajectory of the Humanities curriculum. Throughout the year, students will engage in deep textual analysis, exploring how literature illuminates our understanding of human nature and societal norms. The course will integrate philosophical and religious traditions, encouraging students to synthesize culture and faith within their analyses. Teaching will primarily employ the Socratic Method, fostering student-led dialogue and critical thinking. Students are expected to participate actively in discussions, develop argumentative essays, and demonstrate advanced writing skills with minimal errors.

• Homework Expectation: 45 to 60 minutes per day, can include weekends and breaks
• Summer Assignment Required: Due on 1st day of class
• AP Exam Required: $105 Fee
• Year
• 10 Credits
• UC Approved
• Pending: NCAA Approval

How Humanities 4 / AP English Literature differs from AP English Literature:

• In continuation of the JSerra Humanities tradition, Humanities students engage often in dialectic analysis (i.e., Socratic seminar) that leads to student-led discovery. The AP English Literature course employs more traditional and varied teaching methods.
• Humanities 4 /AP Literature text selections will differ from AP English Literature in their focus on Catholic Worldview and revelation of truth, goodness, and beauty found within the time period from the 19th through 21^st centuries.
• Structure: Whereas the AP English Literature units are structured to dive directly into a study of literary analysis and argument, the Humanities 4/AP English Literature class moves chronologically through the centuries as a basis for understanding the same modes and answering the essential question: What is the Christian response to threats to culture and identity?

How Humanities 4 / AP English Literature differs from English 4:

• AP Literature is a completely different curriculum that follows the standards prescribed by the AP College Board.
• AP Literature explores the various facets of novels and poetry, particularly the authors' use of literary techniques, to interpret multiple meanings of the texts.
• Students who opt to take AP Literature may not be exposed to the classic works of British Literature in their high school tenure.
• AP Literature is recommended for students who enjoy reading. Students are expected to read novels of substantial length in their entirety before class discussion begins; therefore, students must create their own reading schedules and budget their own reading time.
• Writing in the AP Literature class is almost entirely timed, on-demand literary analysis in preparation for the AP Literature exam in May. Students are expected to demonstrate advanced writing skills with a strong grasp of structure, style, and cohesion.
• Be advised that a student coming from an English 3CP to AP Literature makes a two-level leap in rigor and expectation. AP is not a high school honors class; it is a college-level class.

Humanities 4 Honors (Theology) is the culmination of the program’s four-year journey towards full immersion in the Catholic Worldview and the invitation to be a life-long follower of Jesus Chris. At the end of the course students will be competent in giving an answer to the two overarching questions of the Humanities Program: What does it mean to live a fully flourishing human life? Why are a relationship with Christ and a Catholic worldview indispensable for that?

The course is broken into two parts: Mission to the Modern World and The Theology of the Body. Both sections contribute equally to an understanding of how the Church has responded to modernism and post-modernism, and how Christ calls today’s Christian to engage the world and transform it for Him.

Students will read texts from Vatican II, Pope St. John Paul II, Christopher Dawson, Joseph Pieper, Fr. Jacques Phillipe, and G.K. Chesterton, among others. Themes covered include the Catholic response to modern secularism, the universal call to holiness, the centrality of cultivating an interior life alongside the proper use of technology, and Christ’s call to live life as a mission.

Seniors in Humanities will experience a mission trip together and will travel to Rome during Easter break as their capstone experience.