Check your course catalogue for the complete list of courses that will be offered in 2017-2018. Below, we list only the new courses added to the more familiar roster.
Seniors Only
History Senior Seminars:
Construction of Whiteness (Fall)
Much as the name suggests, this class will examine the emergence of “white” as a racial identity in contrast to the historical idea of whiteness as a neutral race. Students will learn about how and why other ethnic groups were either accepted or othered by white culture. Examples of questions that will be discussed in this seminar include: how is whiteness defined in America today? and How does whiteness extend beyond skin color?
Cultural Encounters and Anxieties in Modern Latin America (Fall)
The main objective of this course is to learn about the ethnic, racial, gender, and economic realities in Latin America in modern day. An example of a guiding question that the students will explore is: why do major Latin stars like Shakira and Salma Hayek have Arabic names? Students will learn about the appropriation and reformulation of Latin American cultural movements in other global societies.
Patterns in Urbanization PPP (Spring)
This class will examine how in the post-Agricultural Revolution world, cities have become epicenters for human achievement as well as conflict. Students will study urban areas in both the U.S. and globally in order to understand the impacts of the accelerated growth of cities. Note: this class fulfills the Public Purpose Program requirement for seniors.
Interwar Years PPP (Spring)
Although this class is not new to LWHS as it was offered during the Fall of 2013, it is being reintroduced for the 2017-18 school year. The curriculum will delve into the period between 1919-1939, an era bookended by the two World Wars, and examine the contrast between how the western world recovered from World War I while non-western cultures struggled in the face of imperialism. Students will also learn about the political movements that evolved in this era. If you are interested in deeply understanding the post-WWI and pre-WWII era, then this seminar is a great way for seniors to fulfill their Public Purpose Program requirement.
English Senior Seminars (All English Senior Seminars are Honors):
Bearing Witness: Writers and Artists Respond to Genocide PPP (Fall)
Students will study a diverse variety of art including: poetry, film, philosophy, and fiction in the pursuit of understanding how genocide impacts people, communities, individuals, and cultures as they recover from the atrocities of genocide. The works that students examine will reflect the events of primarily the Cambodian, Rwandan, and Bosnian genocides. This course works in conjunction with the Modern World History Seminar PPP: Bearing Witness: Genocide and its Aftermath and students are encouraged to enroll in both courses in order to get a holistic understanding of the topic.
The Civil War and Reconstruction in American Imagination PPP (Spring)
This course will examine how American authors have intertwined themes of war, resistance, and reconstruction into their work. Some of the selected works that this class will read include: Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, and also shorter works by Mary Boykin Chestnut and Louisa May Alcott. These works will be studied through the lense of attempting to understand how authors understood the story of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Students will be asked to write analytical essays for each work studied and a culminating senior essay on a book of their choosing.
Electives open to Sophomores through Seniors:
Performing Arts Courses:
Musical Theatre Workshop (Spring)
Do you have a desire to delve into musical theatre? If so, this is the class for you. This class will provide a space to study dance, singing, and acting through the scope of musical theatre, as well as learn about classic and contemporary musicals. Students that enroll in this class will have the opportunity to both perform excerpts from musicals and create their own musical theatre songs.
Technical Arts
Fabricating with Fabric (Fall and Spring)
In this new shops class you can learn how to use a sewing machine to make your own functionable, wearable items. The projects will include a zippered pouch, pajama bottoms, a hoodie, and a t-shirt. In addition, the class will focus on reading commercial patterns and then creating patterns best suited for your body. Each project is customizable to your style and taste. Discussions about the fashion industry and it’s impact on body image will be intertwined into the curriculum. The only prerequisite is Design and Technology, so this is a great course to take to fulfill your tech arts requirement.
BlendEd Courses:
Advanced Computer Science: Complexity Theory and Advanced Algorithms (Fall)
This class hones in on the concept of abstraction, using functions as a form of data, and incorporates discussions focused on relevant topics in computer science including graph theory and cryptography. Other computing topics that will be studied include recursion, concurrency, parallelism, and algorithms. The students will learn how to explore these topics through the use of the coding programs Snap! and Python. The only prerequisite for this course is having a fundamental understanding of recursion and data structures such as 2D lists. Please note that this class only lasts twelve weeks of the first semester.
California Coastal Oceanography (Spring)
This course will address the intersection of geology, chemistry, physics, and biology on California’s coastal environments. Some of the topics covered in this course include: the chemical properties of seawater, the carbon cycle, and studying the El Niño weather pattern. There will be discussion of the geology of the coastal ocean, beaches, and estuaries, ocean’s major communities and the biotic and physical factors that comprise them. This is a rigorous course that will require students to analyze scientific papers and collaborate on projects. Fieldwork will be a significant aspect of this course; the outings that are planned thus far include an overnight to Point Reyes National Seashore, and a trip to the Marine Mammal Center. In addition to field trips, the class will meet virtually every other week. There will be a culminating project that will give students the opportunity to design their own research project and, students will add their findings to a large statewide database that public health managers and the Regional Water Quality Control Board can leverage to regulate recreational waters.
If you have any further questions about course sign-ups you can consult the course catalog or reach out to Dr. Nguyen at cnguyen@lwhs.org.
