Humanities
Bosque School’s humanities approach integrates English, literature, history, and social studies, ensuring students can apply their academic skills in diverse contexts within a constantly evolving, complex world. This interdisciplinary work supports student learning in reading, writing, and critical thinking.
In humanities courses, students study themselves and others, both globally and locally, and learn to use their voices more effectively and thoughtfully. By reading and responding to texts from around the world, Bosque School students develop a sense of the diversity of human cultures, and they consider whose voices are present in and absent from the historical and literary record. Text selection honors both canonical authors and new voices to offer broad perspectives. Through writing, students explore possibilities in their own lives and learn to express themselves with clarity and nuance, honor different perspectives, build and critique arguments, and engage in civil conversations when disagreements arise.
Humanities courses are scaffolded to be developmentally appropriate from middle school to upper school. Middle school English classes establish a foundation for clear, compelling writing. As readers, students analyze perspective and come to understand how literature empowers us to know ourselves in relation to others. Middle school texts range from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream to Gandhi's My Life Is My Message, and include many works of poetry, drama, memoir, and creative nonfiction.
Bosque students engage in authentic research from 6th grade through their capstone experience as seniors. A thorough grounding in historical and global knowledge provides context for individual and project-based learning. Carefully sequenced work with primary and secondary sources develops strong critical thinking and an ability to navigate today's information environment with skill and self-awareness.
In middle school social studies classes, students consider stories in real-world contexts. They practice analyzing primary sources and evaluating secondary sources, coming to understand the role of evidence in history and the social sciences. They develop independence and confidence by tackling projects that showcase their knowledge and skills. For example, 7th-grade students research their own heritage using primary and secondary sources. After analyzing authors ranging from Sandra Cisneros and Kwame Alexander to Joy Harjo and Dave Barry, they produce a wide range of creative fiction and nonfiction pieces for a variety of audiences throughout the year.
In upper school humanities classes, students read across a wide range of genres and time periods. They develop robust independent writing practices and learn to adapt their style to creative and persuasive genres, as well as to evidence-based arguments. They become versatile and confident communicators, ready to write and present for audiences within and beyond the school community. Upper school students also deepen their understanding of how present-day challenges emerge from local, national, and global histories. They learn to use databases and to evaluate and interpret peer-reviewed professional research. In their senior year, students apply these reading and writing skills through senior capstone projects across disciplines. They produce original research and write arguments that align with the professional expectations of the discipline they have chosen for their project — whether history, literary study, visual arts, or the sciences.
Upper school humanities includes required courses that fulfill English and social studies expectations. Coursework in both disciplines provides students with an understanding of the past and context to examine their contemporary world. In addition, these courses refine students' ability to work with and analyze diverse sources, compose evidence-based arguments, engage in constructive discourse on meaningful topics, and produce a range of creative writing pieces. In keeping with the upper school's humanities approach, we teach works of literature alongside and in relation to historical primary texts. Over their four years, students read widely from a collection of texts that capture the diverse human experience, including works by both canonical and contemporary authors. In upper school humanities, texts may include Sophocles' Antigone and Oedipus Rex, the Babylonian poem The Epic of Gilgamesh, Valmiki’s Ramayana, the sacred text of the Quiché Maya Popol Vuh, Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote, Toni Morrison’s A Mercy, Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Tommy Orange’s There There, and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go.
Students in 11th and 12th grade pursue advanced coursework in English or social studies through a selection of electives that rotate by semester and year. Some recent classes include Black Women Writers, Creative Writing, Gender Studies, Comparative Politics, and Economics. These electives allow students to explore humanities topics in depth and, in some cases, earn WELLBEING credit.
By senior year, students are able to express themselves with civility and humility, inviting others into dialogue and exchange. They understand that knowledge is constantly evolving and that their own perspectives are part of a broader, more complex conversation. Graduates leave upper school as critical readers, adept and nuanced writers, and empathetic thinkers. They understand the world and are eager to engage with and transform it through a life of leadership and service.
Two-and-a-half-week immersive courses (offered each May) provide additional opportunities for students to apply their passions, skills, and knowledge in the humanities through interdisciplinary coursework. Some recent humanities Immersives include: Mountains and Rivers: Creative Pathways to Storytelling (middle school), Book Makers Workshop (middle school), fREADom: The First Amendment, Journalism, and Intellectual Freedom (middle school), The Odyssey: Original and Adaptations (upper school), Writing Center Tutor Training (upper school), and In Good Relation: Native New Mexico and the Work of Decolonization (upper school).
Seniors have the opportunity to deepen their commitment, knowledge, and expertise by engaging in a comprehensive, year-long senior thesis process designed to navigate the expansive realm of the humanities. Under this broad umbrella encompassing language, literature, philosophy, political science, sociology, history, anthropology, archaeology, law, religion, and music, among other topics, students embark on individualized inquiries and conduct original research to produce an article-length paper. While the specific humanities content is tailored to each student's choice, the course primarily focuses on imparting the essential skills required to sustain a year-long research project and writing-based exploration. This intellectual journey culminates in the crafting of a humanities-focused senior thesis, in which students apply their acquired skills to delve deeply into their chosen area of inquiry within the vast landscape of the humanities.
Some Recent Examples of Capstone projects include:
- Why Can’t We Just Print More Money? An Analysis of the Applicability of Modern Monetary Theory to Social Programs in the U.S. and Monetary Neutrality
- How Rising Energy Demands for AI Technologies Impact the Future of the Energy Economy
- Using Our Knowledge of Fractals and Chaos Theory to Help Deepen Our Understanding of Dark Matter and Its Structure in the Universe
- The Pandemic's Fallout: Unpacking the Rise in Homelessness in Albuquerque Amid Economic, Social, and Mental Health Crises
Extracurricular opportunities to extend learning across the humanities and language arts include Film Club, Poetry Club Out Loud, The Oracle (a creative magazine), Spreading Literacy Club, Mock Trial, and Model United Nations.