French V is open to students who have completed Level IV and wish to continue their immersion in French. While helping students hone their expression in French by expanding their lexical range and improving their command of grammar, this course involves a much greater emphasis on current French and Francophone literature and film than previous French courses. Students will be expected to read and discuss a number of literary texts and articles from several French-speaking countries. Readings will be organized around themes such as language and identity, globalization and integration, nationalism and exile. Students will learn how to effectively produce close readings, persuasive essays, news articles and film critiques.

Prerequisite: Successful completion of French IV and the recommendation of the current French teacher. (Year Course - 1 credit)

This seminar course focuses on select aspects of contemporary literature, film, and media in the French- speaking world, with an emphasis on metropolitan France, North Africa, and Quebec. Students hone their interpretive and presentational skills by engaging in close readings of literary texts and analyses of cinematic works. While familiarizing themselves with the formal and stylistic characteristics of representative aesthetic genres (play, memoir, short fiction, and satire), students deepen their understanding of post-colonial topics in the Francophone world: geographic displacement, hybrid identities, immigration and integration, language and power. Course content will vary based on students’ interests, yet our core texts will include selections from the following authors: Molière, Yasmina Reza, Eugène Ionesco, and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Prerequisite: completion of French V or French V AP.

(Year Course - 1 credit)

This capstone course of the Latin program at University School offers a deeper examination of Roman culture and mores through the lens of some of the most entertaining writers on the human condition.  In the first semester, we read extensively from secondary sources on themes of entertainment, religious practice, corruption, life in the neighborhoods of Rome, and relationships between the classes.  In the second semester, we read extensively from the poetry of Catullus, including the poems describing his tumultuous relationship with Lesbia.  As student interest dictates, we will investigate the social realities of upper-class women in Rome, Catullus’s short epic poetry, or Cicero’s scandalous speech on the Clodia Metelli, who has sparked imaginations for years as the putative Lesbia in Catullus’s poetry.

(Year Course - 1 credit)

This course is designed for students who have already completed the AP Spanish Language course.  This course is aimed at students who wish to expand their knowledge of language, literature and culture while exploring a variety of topics.  Students enrolled in the course may opt to take the Spanish Literature AP exam offered in May.  The focus of this course is to explore Spanish and Latin American authors and their works from medieval to present day.  Students in Post-AP will further advance their skills in Spanish through extensive readings and essay writing.  Students will work to develop the skills needed to make cross-textual and cross-cultural connections.  The class will cover selected works from the reading list.  In addition to literature, we will cover topics relevant to Spanish-speaking countries.  There will be a summer reading assignment for this class.

Prerequisite: Completion of Advanced Placement Spanish Language

(Year Course - 1 credit)

The Spanish Seminar Sequence is premised on the notion that all are capable of learning language, all learn language in their own way, and through learning language we are more able to learn about ourselves and the world around us.  Courses present an introduction to the twin disciplines of language learning and intercultural study, and curricular progress is explicitly tied to student ability.

 

Spanish Seminar courses teach basic knowledge of the Spanish language and introduce students to the fundamentals of intercultural study, or the exploration of one’s own culture in relation to the cultures of others.  Class content considers the various ways that we and Hispanic peoples are similar and the ways in which we differ in how we live our lives, relate to our families, set our routines, experience our places, participate in our communities, pass along our customs and our traditions, experience childhood, and tell our stories.  The class is an invitation for the student to explore himself, to explore how he relates to others, to approach interpersonal and cultural differences, and to develop the skills necessary for effectively communicating across those differences.

Prerequisite: Recommendation from learning services and languages department.