CLASSES
Senior Seminar — Humanistic Tradition: Literature of Place
Tomorrow's Voices Literature of Place class combines literature, writing, and civic education to help instill our students with a sense of place and community inspired by literature.
This class examines the relationship between humans and and their environment. Assuming that the fate of humans is inseparable from the fate of the environment, a student of geography might use the environment as a mirror, a source for self-reflection, as it will reveal the true character of the people that influenced and, to whatever degree, shaped the landscape. A geographer sees the landscape and then works backwards to reveal and evaluate the "human character" as it shows up in the sustainability of place. In turn, our students seek to examine the effect of their landscape on humans and hypothesize on the prospects for sustainability in all facets of human life from biological to spiritual.
Our notion of what is possible, our sense of self, and our imagination are shaped by our geography. Literature of Place explores these themes, themes of humanity within the context of nature, themes of community within the context of place. Authors return again and again to geography as the source for their inspiration, the crucible from which they extract a view that helps us make sense of our world. Humans are shaped by their landscapes and all they contain: by the geoography of smells, sounds, race, poverty and, as literature seeks to reveal, a sense of morality...a human identity larger than self.
This class offers both high school and college credit. College credit is available through the University of Colorado's "CU Succeed Gold Program." Participating seniors will meet Tuesday evenings for the two hour course, for the entire second semester, 2010. Classes will meet at Roaring Fork and Basalt High Schools, alternately. Tuition is $100 for the semester (which includes the course materials). Scholarships are available.
Teachers: Paul Anderson and Aaron Garland
Please contact your high school registrar or Lexi McNutt at lexi@tomorrowsvoices.org for more information or to enroll.
