Humanities

Reading the World. Shaping the Future.

The Humanities at JCHS prepare students to think critically, communicate clearly, and engage thoughtfully with the world around them. Through literature, history, writing, and discussion, students learn to analyze complex ideas, evaluate evidence, consider multiple perspectives, and present well-supported arguments.

Our curriculum combines rigorous reading and writing with meaningful collaboration and interdisciplinary learning. Students explore diverse voices, cultures, and historical experiences while strengthening the skills they'll use throughout college, careers, and civic life.

Two Disciplines.
One Conversation.

English

Students engage with novels, plays, poetry, essays, memoirs, journalism, and other forms of writing that challenge them to think deeply about language, culture, and the human experience. Through analytical, persuasive, and creative writing, they develop the ability to communicate with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

History

History courses encourage students to investigate the past through primary sources, multiple perspectives, and historical inquiry. Students develop the skills to evaluate evidence, recognize patterns, understand historical context, and make meaningful connections between the past and today's world.

Many Humanities courses are intentionally integrated, allowing students to connect literature, history, ethics, and current events through shared projects and interdisciplinary learning experiences.

Humanities Graduation Requirements

English

4 years of core English

History

2 years of core History

Humanities Elective

1 elective course

Ninth graders begin with Postcolonial World English, followed by American Literature in tenth grade. Eleventh and twelfth grade students choose from grade-specific English options. Students complete United States History in tenth grade and Modern Jewish History in eleventh grade.

Explore Humanities Courses

ENGLISH CORE COURSES

  • Subject Area: English
    Open to: 9

    Students build a foundation in world literature with an emphasis on non-Western voices and experiences. Through works including The Tempest, Persepolis, Pachinko, and The Dew Breaker, students explore literature across genres and cultures while examining questions of identity, history, and social inequality.

    Through close reading, discussion, and analytical writing, students learn to recognize textual patterns, analyze writers’ choices, and craft clear, evidence-based arguments. Creative projects and a culminating mock trial based on The Dew Breaker give students additional opportunities to apply their learning in imaginative ways.

  • Subject Area: English, American Studies
    Open to: 10

    Students explore American literature from the Colonial period through the 20th century, examining the evolving ideas and identities that have shaped the United States. Readings range from Native American literature and the writings of Frederick Douglass to works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Emily Dickinson, and Langston Hughes.

    Through frequent drafting and revision, students strengthen literary analysis, persuasive writing, and their understanding of genre and form. Several units are coordinated with U.S. History, allowing students to explore literature within a richer historical context. The year culminates in a mock school board meeting where students debate the inclusion of controversial texts in the JCHS curriculum.

  • Subject Area: English
    Open to: 11

    This writing-intensive course helps students become more confident, versatile, and creative writers. Through op-eds, magazine features, book reviews, research, and personal essays, students move beyond the traditional five-paragraph essay and develop persuasive writing for real-world audiences.

    Readings include contemporary essays and features, Chanel Miller’s Know My Name, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. An interdisciplinary project with Biology asks students to research the ethical implications of creating human life, while work in personal essay writing helps students begin developing their college essays. Each major piece moves through an extensive drafting and revision process.

  • Subject Area: English
    Open to: 11
    Prerequisite: B+ in American Literature

    AP English Language and Composition develops students’ ability to analyze rhetoric and craft sophisticated, evidence-based arguments. Students study fiction and nonfiction across genres and historical periods, examining how writers use language, evidence, structure, and rhetorical strategies to persuade their audiences.

    Frequent writing assignments emphasize research, synthesis, argumentation, and revision. An interdisciplinary project with Biology explores the ethical implications of creating human life through the study of Frankenstein. Students also develop their personal writing voices while working on college essays and learn to adapt their writing to different genres, audiences, and purposes.

  • Subject Area: English
    Open to: 12

    This interdisciplinary course explores the relationship between culture, nature, and today's environmental challenges. Through literature, film, photography, and visual art, students consider how representations of the natural world influence the ways people use, protect, and understand it.

    Works including Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, Sebastião Salgado’s photography, and short stories by Horacio Quiroga invite students to examine environmental issues through cultural, ethical, and political perspectives.

    The course is integrated with Senior Seminar: Issues in Jewish Thought, allowing students to explore shared themes including systemic oppression, the problem of evil, and the importance of memory through a culminating interdisciplinary essay.

  • Subject Area: English
    Open to: 12
    Prerequisite: B+ in Writing and Rhetoric or B in AP English Language and Composition

    AP English Literature and Composition explores how writers use language and literary form to examine identity, individual desire, and cultural expectations. Through fiction and poetry by writers including Toni Morrison, Gustave Flaubert, Zora Neale Hurston, Emily Dickinson, and Terrance Hayes, students develop sophisticated close-reading and analytical skills.

    Students learn to construct persuasive literary arguments and write focused, thesis-driven essays in preparation for the AP exam. The course is integrated with Senior Seminar: Issues in Jewish Thought, allowing students to explore shared philosophical and ethical themes through interdisciplinary writing and discussion.

HISTORY CORE COURSES

  • Subject Area: History, American Studies
    Open to: 10

    This survey course examines the major events, ideas, and forces that have shaped the United States and continue to influence American society. Students work with primary sources, secondary texts, and multimedia resources while developing their ability to think critically, participate in discussion and debate, and construct clear, evidence-based arguments.

    The course is integrated with American Literature, allowing students to explore historical events alongside the literature and voices of their time. The year culminates in an interdisciplinary research project connecting history with contemporary issues.

  • Subject Area: History, American Studies
    Open to: 10
    Prerequisite: B+ in Postcolonial World Literature

    Equivalent to an introductory college-level U.S. History course, AP United States History explores the major events, individuals, movements, and ideas that have shaped the nation.

    Students analyze primary and secondary sources, make historical comparisons, examine cause and effect, and construct arguments supported by evidence. Themes including national identity, migration, politics, economics, culture, geography, and America’s role in the world help students make connections across historical periods and between the past and contemporary life. Strong emphasis is placed on analytical writing and historical thinking.

  • Subject Area: History
    Open to: 11

    What does it mean to be Jewish in the 21st century, and how did we get here? Modern Jewish History examines how Jewish identity, religious practice, and politics have evolved in the modern world.

    Students explore Jewish responses to citizenship and emerging nation-states, the development of modern Jewish denominations, European nationalism and Zionism, the establishment of the State of Israel, the Shoah (Holocaust), and the changing relationship between Jewish identity and race. Students also pursue a topic of personal interest through an independent research paper that strengthens research, analysis, and writing skills.

ELECTIVE COURSES

  • Subject Area: History
    Open to: 11, 12

    AP Comparative Government and Politics introduces students to the concepts and methods political scientists use to understand governments, political systems, and policy outcomes around the world.

    Through comparative study of China, the United Kingdom, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia, students examine political institutions, citizen participation, economic and political change, and the ways different governments respond to common challenges. Comparing these systems helps students understand both the diversity of global political life and the forces shaping contemporary politics.

  • Subject Area: History
    Open to: 11, 12

    AP European History examines the political, cultural, intellectual, economic, and social forces that have shaped Europe from approximately 1450 to the present.

    Students analyze primary and secondary sources, make historical comparisons, examine cause and effect, and develop evidence-based arguments. Themes including Europe’s relationship with the wider world, economic development, political power, intellectual movements, and the relationship between individuals and society help students make connections across historical periods while preparing for the AP exam.

  • Open to: 11, 12

    AP Psychology introduces students to the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Topics include the biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, learning, cognition, development, and clinical and social psychology.

    Through reading, discussion, writing, and analysis of psychological research, students learn to apply psychological concepts to real-world situations and evaluate research methods and data. The course provides a broad introduction to the many ways psychology helps us understand human thought and behavior.

  • Subject Area: English
    Open to: 10, 11, 12

    Stories help us understand ourselves and make sense of the world around us. In this course, students explore the elements of compelling storytelling across a variety of forms and media.

    Through short fiction, creative nonfiction, journalism, photographic essays, and multimedia storytelling, students experiment with voice, structure, character, and perspective while developing their ability to craft engaging narratives for different audiences and purposes.

  • Subject Area: Jewish History
    Open to: 11, 12
    Cross-listed with: Jewish Studies

    Students examine the Holocaust as a defining event in modern Jewish and world history. The course begins with pre-war Jewish life, the rise of Nazism, the evolution of Nazi policies toward Jews, and the development of the Final Solution, with particular attention to how and why Nazi persecution escalated to genocide.

    Students then explore the Holocaust’s continuing legacy, including its relationship to authoritarianism, democracy, antisemitism, Jewish identity, and our understanding of other genocides.

    Please Note: Students may count this cross-listed course toward either their Jewish Studies or Humanities elective graduation requirement.

  • Subject Area: History
    Open to: 11, 12
    Cross-listed with: Jewish Studies

    The history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is shaped by competing experiences, narratives, and interpretations. This course helps students understand the historical turning points and perspectives that have contributed to the conflict and continue to influence political positions today.

    Through historical study and dialogue, students examine the core issues underlying the conflict, the experiences of different populations in the region, and a wide range of perspectives informing contemporary discourse. The course emphasizes open-hearted engagement, thoughtful dialogue, and an appreciation for complexity.

    Please Note: Students may count this cross-listed course toward either their Jewish Studies or Humanities elective graduation requirement.

  • Subject Area: History
    Open to: 9

    This world history course explores the people, societies, ideas, and exchanges that have shaped our interconnected modern world. From human origins in Africa and the emergence of ancient civilizations to the formation of powerful states across the globe, students investigate major historical developments while drawing meaningful connections between the past and present.

    Throughout the course, students strengthen essential skills in active reading, research, critical thinking, discussion, and analytical writing.

    Please Note: This introductory course is open to all ninth graders and may be taken in lieu of Foundations of Computer Science.

  • Subject Area: English
    Open to: 11, 12
    Cross-listed with: Jewish Studies

    This course explores the emergence of a distinctly Jewish American literary culture in New York City, beginning with the mass immigration of Eastern European Jews in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and continuing into the present.

    Through poetry, short stories, novels, and essays, students examine themes including immigration and longing for the “old country,” assimilation, Jewish racial identity, multilingualism, the American melting pot, and responses to the Holocaust. Students engage with these works through both critical and creative writing, approaching literature as readers, critics, and writers.

    Please Note: Students may count this cross-listed course toward either their Jewish Studies or Humanities elective graduation requirement.

Why the Humanities Matter

Hear from Dr. Camilo Jaramillo, Dean of Humanities, about how the study of literature, history, and culture helps students think critically, explore different perspectives, and find meaning in their learning.

JCHS is grateful for the generous support of our Theater Arts & Humanities sponsor.