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Radnor Township School District
Mrs. Myers, Mr. Hostetler, and Mrs. Burns introduce you to the Senior Seminar, Interdisciplinary course 0040. We welcome you to join the excitement and challenge that comes along with taking a course that is being offered for only the second time.
 
The website for this course is under development. It includes a tentative syllabus, and will be bolstered with general class schedules and expectations, helpful and intriguing links (how can anything intriguing not be helpful?), and other things that will surely stoke the fires of your brain.
 
Before you reach for the asbestos-lined hat, thinking, Hmm, perhaps I should have steered clear of this course, control your fear! This intellectual inquiry is designed to challenge you, yes, and do so at a level at least equivalent to that of Advanced Placement...but it is also full of avenues down which you will be able to trundle the push-carts of your questions, concerns, opinions, and development. The mixing of metaphors will also be entertained.
 
The purpose of this course, generally stated, is to attempt a study of nothing less than intellectual history of the world. To this end, we will read literature, run activities and even some labs, do lots of independent work, and consider roughly the following elements:
 
  • First Quarter: Cosmology (or, "Man in the Universe") -- and by "Man" we mean the species, not the gender
    • How have man’s ideas about the universe changed throughout the ages and how has this affected society?
    • What are the stories we tell about the universe ("We" being the peoples of different cultures throughout history), and how are these stories similar and/or different? Why do stories matter at all?
    • Why are we here, what are we doing here, why is anything here...and why can we think about why we're here?
    • What makes a revolution in world-view, and what does one look like?
    • What is the relationship between science and religion -- hypothetically and in practice?
    • When world-views collide, what happens? When cultures meet, is the result violent or understanding? Has the answer to this question changed over time -- and if so, why?
    • What is the nature of fate, and do you have one?
    • What is your place in the world/community?, or, Will college make you happy?

 

  • Second Quarter: Evolution (or, "Man and the Earth") -- and by "Man" we still mean the species, not the gender
    • How have man’s ideas about the origin of life changed throughout the ages and how has this affected society?
    • How did life progress to the point it has reached?
    • What is progress?
    • What is meant by the terms grandeur, sublimity, and beauty? Is there grandeur in nature? Even in a nature as conceived by a materialist?
    • Why and how were the Romantics (and their kin from around the world -- kinship will be examined) so entranced with nature?
    • How should we make sense of the debate about evolution, science/religion, and other political and scientific discourse?
    • How do concepts like "advanced" and "civilized" figure into the history of the human world? (Hint: it isn't all rosy stuff...)

 

  • Third Quarter: Consciousness (or, "Man in Himself", "Woman in Herself", or "Humans in Themselves")
    • How have man’s ideas about consciousness changed throughout the ages and how has this affected society?
    • What is the difference between brain and mind, and how did it come about?
    • What are the limits of the conscious mind?
    • When are you using subjective measures and when are you using objective ones? When is there a right answer and when is there only opinion...and when is there space for both?
    • What is existentialism?
    • What is identity?
    • What is Hamlet's problem?
    • Is it better to be happy, or is there value in suffering?

 

  • Fourth Quarter: Project Work
    • Projects, presentations, and lots of synthesis
    • Investigations that help us discover who we are and what matters to us
 
For the time being, you can wait for the syllabus productively by checking out the summer reading/viewing expectations. Check back soon: this site will develop quickly!
 
In the meantime, read, notice details, think, and synthesize. The world is a fascinating place!