Thacher’s mission statement begins with the claim that our school “trains young people in the art of living for their own greatest good and for the greatest good of their fellow citizens in a diverse and changing world.” In English II, we will explore the concept of “the greatest good” as it relates to our personal, local, and global lives. Course readings will highlight the cultural tradition of literature throughout our “diverse and changing world” and prompt students to interpret, analyze, synthesize and develop their points of view. Students will engage in genuine dialogue, challenge the status quo, ask the “un-asked” questions, and begin to see themselves as agents of change. As writers, students will express themselves coherently in a variety of modes and genres as they examine texts and their own experiences through a clear and critical lens. Students will develop critical thinking and media literacy skills, as well as academic discipline, group cooperation, and collaboration skills.

"Things aren't great, Internet. Actually, scratch that: they're awful." As the Wired magazine staff wrote in their 2016 open letter to the World Wide Web, things are pretty messy in our digital and increasingly technocentric world. While some tech pioneers have claimed that the internet set up "a world that all may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race, economic power, military force, or station of birth", it feels like an understatement to say that it has failed spectacularly to live up to that promise. While we live in a world where anyone can express whatever they want to more people than ever before, we also live in the duality of the physical and digital worlds—where apathy, marginalization, alienation, and disillusionment about what constitutes fact and fiction dominate our social milieu. This senior elective seminar explores the impact of the internet and digital technology on the human experience. We ask critical questions about race, gender and sexual identity, class, the environment, institutions, and systems (economic, bureaucratic, etc.) in an effort to heighten our awareness of technology’s impact on our world.

In this course we explore the narrative mode of magical realism through selected short stories and two novels. We investigate the origin of the term “magical realism” describing post-expressionist art, its transfer to the blossoming literary world of Latin America in the middle part of the 20th century, and its ultimate growth into an internationally utilized literary technique. 

In Perspectives on Nature we investigate the widely varied human relationship with the natural world. Looking first into origin stories of various cultures- from hunter-gatherer tribal ritual and myth, to the myths of proto-agriculturalists and the first civilized societies, we seek the cosmologic fundamentals that informed early natural-societal interactions. We study myriad religious perspectives: Judeo-Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Taoist beliefs, as well as delving into the ecstatic nature poetry of the T’ang Dynasty in China. Our pursuit then leads us to Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers such as Francis Bacon and Renee Descartes, and on into the Protestant, scientific, industrial, and democratic revolutions and their effects on the European and, ultimately, American idea of wilderness. 

 

The Empire Strikes Back: Immigrant & Diasporic Voices in American and English Literature 

This course explores works of literature that have emerged from colonial and post-colonial territories during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We read works from representative English and American immigrant authors who work within the post-imperial framework, even as they assume the daunting challenge of cultural decolonization. Building on themes explored sophomore and junior year, we consider questions such as: What effects did/does colonization have on individual identity and collective culture? How are those effects revealed in the works studied? What role does language play in the culture of imperialism? Is it significant that these authors write in the language of the colonial power? Authors and books for our possible consideration include: Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; Chimamanda Adichie, Americanah; Jhumpa Lahiri, Unaccustomed Earth; Tommy Orange, There There; Edwige Danticat, The Farming of Bones; Celeste Ng, Everything I Never Told You; and Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony; Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous.

 

What Moves at the Margin: Essential works of Toni Morrison 

“I stood at the border; I stood at the edge and claimed it as central. I claimed it as central, and let the rest of the world move over to where I was.” - Toni Morrison

 

In this course we read a range of works from both Morrison's fiction and non-fiction to consider what Carolyn C. Denard suggests might be important in our efforts to understand fully Morrison's "unrelenting passion to leave, it seems, no stone unturned in her interpretation of the large and small of Black life-– the defeats and the triumphs, the remembered and the forgotten, the myths and the music." In her introduction to the collection of Morrison's essays from which this course takes its name, Denard also writes: "What, we might ask, drives Morrison to use fiction in this kind of culturally and historically expansive way? What influences have shaped the world view she brings to her understanding of African American life and to the role the novel plays in its interpretation? What matters to her outside the novels even as it influences what goes on inside them? What, as the children ask the old woman in the story Morrison told in her Nobel Lecture 'moves at the margin' of her fiction that informs, orders, and gives intellectual energy to her life commitments and to her role as writer?"

This class is required for all ninth graders and represents the first course in the history sequence at Thacher. In a scaffolded process, students learn to think like historians through critical reading of the textbook, scholarship, and primary documents, dynamic student-centered class discussions, and a diverse range of written assignments, debates, presentations, and multimedia exhibitions on world history and current events. This course also supports Thacher's wider efforts to onboard our students from a diverse array of backgrounds and set them up for success throughout their Thacher career and beyond as historically informed citizens of the world. Historical topics like religious difference, technological innovation, a belief in individual freedom and democracy, the growth of representative government, and industrialization have been, and continue to be, major forces throughout the world. We also explore the emergence and spread of these forces over the last five hundred years from multiple perspectives in world history.

 

This course examines the history of the twenty countries that make up Latin America from the Encounter to the present. One challenge we face is trying to make sense of such a broad region in such a short time. The region hosts a range of cultures, geographies, political structures, and languages. By necessity, we focus most of our energies on the larger and/or more historically revealing countries of the region, especially Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Cuba. However, we try to draw other countries into our discussions as well so that we can try to arrive at one story that works for the region as a whole. 

What is America? This course begins with the proposition that an answer to this question is best approached through a joint study of American literature and language and history. Therefore, we seek to coordinate the disciplines of English and history so that students can gain a deeper understanding of not only American culture, history, politics, art, and literature, but also their relationship to the idea of America. In addition to using traditional textbooks, we investigate myriad sources, including fiction, non-fiction (speeches, essays, memoirs, and editorials), art, advertisements, film, music, and artifacts of popular culture in our quest to contemplate the American past and present in innovative and creative ways.

 

This course is an intensive introduction to economic theory. During the first half of the year, the course focuses on macroeconomics, exploring patterns and forces within the global economy. During the second half of the year, the course turns to microeconomics, examining how markets determine—and are shaped by—the behavior of individuals and firms. Topics include supply and demand, market failures, national income accounting, unemployment, inflation, the business cycle, fiscal and monetary policy, banks and the financial system, and consumer and producer theory. This course is not a “traditional” survey of economics. The goal of the course is to help students apply their knowledge of economic theory to the real world and broaden their understanding of the major issues individuals and policymakers face in the global economy today. Particular emphasis will be given to the themes of globalization, inequality, environmental justice, racial disparities in wealth and economic opportunity, and the ethics of capitalism. 

This course offers an in-depth introduction to prehistoric, ancient, and European art as well as critical introductions to Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Pre-Columbian American, and African art. Emphasis is placed on developing appropriate art historical vocabulary, on understanding the intersection of cultural context and individual artistic expression, and on the formal compositional considerations that painters, sculptors, photographers, and architects use in constructing their work. It is also essential that students understand the historical, social, political, economic, and aesthetic background of a given piece, in order to understand, in the fullest possible context, what they are examining.

This interdisciplinary course uses the principles of sustainability and systems thinking as a framework to envision and help design communities that are more sustainable, resilient, and socially and environmentally equitable. The course begins with an intensive focus on systems thinking and the intersections between sustainability and a host of other disciplines, including environmental studies, public policy, economics and more. Students then turn their attention to the local Ventura County area and partner with community organizations to help co-design sustainable solutions for issues the organization or its constituents are facing.The students will work closely with local organizations to put into practice what they learn in the classroom and gain real-world experience in fields such as urban planning, circular economy, wildlife and land conservation, regenerative agriculture, sustainable business, environmental health, and social and environmental justice. The course aims to immerse students in the work of building a more just, sustainable world. Reading, writing, field work, and design are highlighted throughout the year to provide a well-rounded understanding of what it means to live sustainably.

This course is designed to provide the foundation for the study of Art History and to prepare students for advanced study in any of the specific topics and art historical eras covered. It will offer an in-depth introduction to prehistoric, ancient, and European art as well as critical introductions to Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Pre-Columbian American, and African art. Emphasis is placed on developing appropriate art historical vocabulary, on understanding the intersection of cultural context and individual artistic expression, and on the formal compositional considerations that painters, sculptors, photographers, and architects use in constructing their work. It is also essential that students understand the historical, social, political, economic, and aesthetic background of a given piece, in order to understand, in the fullest possible context, what they are examining.

 

The course will involve a series of approaches to ensure student learning. Students will develop skills of visual analysis, listen to introductory lectures, and read general background information from their texts. Armed with this information, they will engage, under the direction of the instructor and the library staff, in rigorous research that will result in oral presentations made either individually or collaboratively, in responding to timed tests that will assess their recall, and in analytical essays that will examine individual pieces of art. There is a possibility of at least one trip to a major museum in the Los Angeles area to enhance our studies. 

The Thacher school welcomes activists, scholars and artists who contribute to the student experience and understanding of equity and inclusion. Click here to learn about some of the leaders who have met with our students in recent years to build upon the content covered in the classroom. 

Self-directed learning and research culminates with a Senior Exhibition presentation showcasing each student's deep learning throughout the school year. For many, this is an opportunity to employ findings related to passions related to diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion fostered through their time in the Thacher classroom. Recent senior exhibitions have included: