Humanities

Place-Based American Studies (open to juniors, replaces U.S. History and 2 11/12 English courses) examines essential themes in the literature and history of the United States, including place, identity, conflict, and consensus, through a lens that focuses on a fixed, place-based approach. This interdisciplinary, team-taught course also incorporates contributions from archaeology, cultural anthropology, politics, religion, film, and art. Rooted in serious research and off-campus experiences, including required field investigations to regional sites, students deconstruct the national narrative and develop a deeper connection to Sewanee, the Appalachian region, and the South. Projects of civic engagement and service-learning are integral parts of this course. Potential texts include: Ely: An Autobiography by Ely Green, The Unvanquished by William Faulkner, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, The Mountaintop by Katori Hall, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien as well as works by James Agee. For completion of this double-block, yearlong course, students receive credit in English (equivalent to two one-semester offerings) and History (equivalent to the graduation requirement in U.S. History). Note: Open only to juniors. Students completing Place-Based American Studies will be ineligible to take U.S. History and American Literature as seniors.

Foundations of Literary Theory is an exploration of the major modes of critical analysis of the 19th and 20st centuries and the applications thereof. We will examine those theoretical modes of criticism which have most formatively shaped literature and culture, paying particular attention to Formalism, Marxism, Critical Race Theory, Queer Theory, and Feminist Theory. Students will read a number of theoretical, analytical, and creative texts exploring themes of identity, connection, performance, and more. This course is designed to foster critical thought. We will ask many bold questions; along the way, we will challenge ourselves to encounter the world with new and critical perspectives. Potential texts: This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa; Kindred by Octavia Butler; Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall; Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit; Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado; Sister, Outsider by Audre Lorde; The Cineaste by A. Van Jordan

Multicultural American Literature samples the work of contemporary authors who use writing to explore their identity, culture, and ethnicity, shaping our evolving definition of what it means to be American, with a particular focus on communities traditionally deemed to be outside the mainstream. In addition to discussing cultural identity—the authors’ and our own—we will examine the ways in which authors today push the boundaries of literary art, addressing the philosophical question that lies at the heart of much literature: how can we express and translate our complex reality—our lived experiences, our cultures, and our identities— within the pages of a novel, story, or poem? Potential texts: How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang; O Beautiful by Jung Yun; The Other Americans by Laila Lalami; Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko; variety of poetry and short fiction.

“Shakespeare is more than just plays in the theater,” Sir Ian McKellen said. “I’ve got a little collection of Shakespeare figurines at home. That’s Shakespeare to me. A walk along the Avon is Shakespeare to me. A pub with his name on the sign. Shakespeare is a hydra-headed brand.” As the legendary actor points out, the works of William Shakespeare have greater significance than simply being plays from a distant time; rather, The Bard’s influence permeates the growth of the English language and Western culture from his rise to fame over 400 years ago to the present day. In this class, we will explore the “hydra-headed brand” that is Shakespeare. While reading four of his plays, we will study the range of his creative talents, the historical context of his plots and conflicts, and the lasting impact of each of the selected works. Students who take this course should be prepared to practice close reading and analysis on all reading assignments, actively engage in classroom discussions, and to write both analytically and creatively on a variety of assessments. We will also try our hand at performance through the forms of recitations and group projects. Potential texts: Hamlet, King Lear, Twelfth Night, Coriolanus, and The Tempest.

Fiction, Drama, & Poetry: Writing Intensive provides students with the tools and guidance needed to critically analyze and create short fiction, drama, and poetry. This course is designed for students who want to be part of a community of writers, actively engaged in the world of creative writing. Students learn to read and to analyze fiction, drama, and poetry as writers, to generate new material, and to revise deeply. Studying a wide range of fiction, drama, poetry, and craft essays by diverse contemporary writers, students develop a deeper understanding of the craft of writing. In addition to reading critically and writing analytically, students write extensively in all three genres. Students write often in class, as well as on their own. Students collaborate to generate new material and to increase the power of their writing through peer feedback and extensive revision. They create a body of work that they have taken through a process of generation, composition, revision, and editing. Potential Texts: The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Fiction; Plays in One Act; American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time

Gothic Literature will trace the evolution of the Gothic genre from its origins as a response to the Enlightenment, realism, and the Industrial Revolution in Britain to contemporary literature, exploring the genre’s journey across the Atlantic and impact on American literature and media. As the class engages with the course material, students will discuss the significance of the supernatural, the sublime, and the manifestation of socioeconomic anxieties in the form of Gothic monsters and villains. Students will also confront the historical context for the selected readings and the background of the authors in order to analyze each work on a deeper level. Various forms of Gothic Literature will be examined, including poetry, short stories, and novels, and students will also engage in both creative and analytical writing assignments and projects centered around the selected texts. As the course progresses, students will address how the genre has changed and evolved in correspondence with the changes in concerns and anxieties of humanity over the past 250 years, leading them to take themes and tropes from the works we have studied and attribute them to our modern context in their own fiction. Potential Texts: The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole; The Monk by Matthew Lewis; Frankenstein by Mary Shelley; The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings by Edgar Allan Poe; The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson; Flannery O’Connor: Collected Works; Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys; variety of short fiction.  

In this course, students examine literature that engages various strands of philosophical thought, from the early modern to the contemporary era. Students explore, alongside some of the major writers of our times, such philosophical topics as the question of divine presence; the meaning and purpose of human existence; the idea of the unconscious; the relationship of self and other; the effect of trauma on the psyche; and the nature of reality and time. In class discussions and written commentaries, students trace the history of philosophical thought and examine how the creative imagination has transformed ideas into literature. Potential texts: Modernist poetry and short fiction; Lost Body by Aime Cesaire and Pablo Picasso; No Exit by Jean Paul Sartre; Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett; History of Love by Nicole Krauss; Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Formation and Transformation: Bildungsroman introduces students to the timeless genre of coming of age stories. In this course, students will explore the stages of human life from childhood to adulthood. Joining the protagonists on their unique journeys of transformation and self awareness, we will analyze themes of nature versus nurture, family, culture, and community, including the struggle to maintain hope in the face of adversity. Potential texts: The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger; A River Runs Through It, Normal Maclean; Without a Map, Meredith Hall. 

Historical Studies places an emphasis on “making” history through the production of contested versions of the past. This course examines the complexity of the human experience in texts, contexts, and critiques across time and place. It seeks to instill the judgment, empathy, and cultural literacy needed for civic participation. Historical Studies fosters the development of historical thinking skills and essential skills in reading, collaboration, writing, and speaking. An introduction to research methods is an integral feature. Consistent with the vision to value and empower the many voices of our community and the grade-level theme (“Who am I?”), Historical Studies also traces the construction of the self through selected readings and visual media from global history

Global History places an emphasis on the twin themes of perspectives and processes in the global past and present. It examines the complexity of the modern world with consideration to historical antecedents. Cultural geography and political simulation are integral features. Global History fosters the refinement of historical thinking skills and essential skills in reading, research, collaboration, writing, and speaking introduced in Historical Studies. Consistent with the goals of a place-based education and the grade-level theme (“Where am I?”), Global History also investigates those interesting questions that arise at the juncture where global processes intersect with their local manifestations.

Place-Based American Studies (open to juniors, replaces U.S. History and 2 11/12 English courses) examines essential themes in the literature and history of the United States, including place, identity, conflict, and consensus, through a lens that focuses on a fixed, place-based approach. This interdisciplinary, team-taught course also incorporates contributions from archaeology, cultural anthropology, politics, religion, film, and art. Rooted in serious research and off-campus experiences, including required field investigations to regional sites, students deconstruct the national narrative and develop a deeper connection to Sewanee, the Appalachian region, and the South. Projects of civic engagement and service-learning are integral parts of this course. Potential texts include Ely: An Autobiography by Ely Green, The Unvanquished by William Faulkner, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, The Mountaintop by Katori Hall, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien as well as works by James Agee. For completion of this double-block, yearlong course, students receive credit in English (equivalent to two one-semester offerings) and History (equivalent to the graduation requirement in U.S. History). Note: Open only to juniors. Students completing Place-Based American Studies will be ineligible to take U.S. History and American Literature as seniors.

U.S. History is a study of United States’ history from pre-Columbian America through the Cold War. Students study the major political, social, economic and cultural aspects of the American experience through extensive use of original documents. Broad themes are explored, including independence and constitutional government, sectionalism and civil war, industrialism and the foundations of modern American, and the responsibility of citizenship. Analytical writing assignments include document-based essays. Students complete a major research paper in the second semester. (Students may take Place-based American Studies OR U.S. History, but cannot take both.)

Southern Appalachian History examines the people, culture, events, and themes of the region’s past. Although this course considers historical processes, including the frustrating effects of a unique environment, it also considers contemporary social and economic issues. Consistent with the SAS vision to enhance programs that capitalize on our geography and history, Southern Appalachian History strives to model the best practices in place-based education and includes components of civic engagement and threads of experiential learning.

East Asian Studies will explore questions of politics, history, and culture focusing primarily on China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula. This class seeks to make sense of the modern developments in the East Asian region through historical and ideological research. Our investigation will give proper respect to the diversity of people, cultures, religions, and philosophies of the western Pacific. Potential texts: A Century in Ten Lives by Timothy Cheek; The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War by S.C.M. Paine;  Where’s Halmoni? by Julie Kim. Prerequisite: Global History recommended

Taught at a college seminar level, Religious Studies is an exploration of religion as a phenomenon common to humanity. Students develop tools for the study of any religious tradition. They learn language and method for theological thinking with particular emphasis on the religions birthed of the Abrahamic tradition. Through seminars, essay writing, and research projects, students reflect on the theoretical material presented. At the conclusion of the course, each student articulates a personal creedal statement in light of a full year’s experience examining the phenomenon of religion. Texts include: Dynamics of Faith by Paul Tillich, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, God is Not One by Stephen Prothero, Illustrated World Religions by Huston Smith, and Justice by Michael Sandel.