Human experience, witnessed through history and expressed through literature, is most effectively studied as an integrated whole. The connections between different fields of knowledge are made explicit. Interdisciplinary topics, projects and discussions maximize the crossover benefits of investigating the historical context of literature and exploring the cultural production of political action. In 9th and 10th grade, this takes the shape of Humanities Core and Project courses which intertwine the traditional subjects of History and English. In 11th and 12th grade, required and elective courses allow for deeper dives into discipline specific studies, while still maintaining an interdisciplinary approach.
Department Objectives
These are the five key outcomes for Vistamar Humanities Students
- Empathy – they have walked in others’ shoes across time/space and understand the many perspectives and cultures of the world
- Synthetic learners – they see how literature, history, and other aspects of life are interrelated and interdependent
- Communicators – they comprehend, write, and present their ideas effectively, confidently, and articulately in many different ways
- Constructors of knowledge – they recognize how knowledge is constructed and are guided to create their own narratives
- Active learners – they see education as a lifelong process that fosters their curiosity and informs how they interact with the world