The Humanities 

The Humanities, properly understood, encompass all forms of human self-expression aimed at communication with others. Spoken language, music, written language of all genres, drama, visual arts, architecture, and more recently film and digital arts, have evolved in constant interaction with one another and in concert with technological developments and advances, and can only be fully understood in relation to one another.

The Humanities program at The Hill, uses "greatest jewels" of human creative and intellectual accomplishment, as the foundation from which the students as citizens of a rapidly changing 21st century global community will venture farther afield in both space (beyond the traditionally defined West) and time (to study contemporary creative works) while looking ahead to anticipate the adult world they are about to inherit.

Humanities 3 and 4 together are designed to guide students as they attain the sophisticated levels of both critical and creative thinking that are the foundation of effective, lucid and compelling oral and written articulation of their own understanding, analysis, and appreciation. These are the “skills” at the core of the Humanities program at The Hill, as they are throughout the liberal arts curriculum. It is the means to those ends that make the Humanities program at The Hill different; those skills are developed in response to and interaction with the “best” of human creation.

Within the environs of the Levis '45 * Alexandre '75 Center for the Humanities, students enrolled in Humanities 3 and 4 will write on a daily basis, while exploring a wide range of genres and rhetorical methods and techniques as both critics and practitioners themselves. Students must be prepared to be challenged daily within an active, interdisciplinary, student-centered learning environment. This course requires summer preparatory work, which includes, reading, writing, and experiential activities.

For more information about the Humanities Department, please contact Dr. Mark Pearson '78 P'20 '24, the Elizabeth B. Blossom Chair of Humanities and Co-Director of the Writing Center, at mpearson@thehill.org.

Humanities Course Offerings:

  • 6th Form
  • AP
Humanities 4 AP English Literature

Requires departmental approval

Humanities 4 AP is the second year of a two year sequence of courses. It prepares students for the CEEB Advanced Placement Examination in AP English Literature and Composition. Humanities 3 and 4 together are designed to guide students as they attain the sophisticated levels of both critical and creative thinking that are the foundation of effective, lucid and compelling oral and written articulation of their own understanding, analysis and appreciation. These are the “skills” at the core of the Humanities Program at The Hill, as they are throughout the Liberal Arts curriculum. It is the means to those ends that make the Humanities program at The Hill different; those skills are developed in response to and interaction with the “best” of human creation. Within the evirons of the Levis Room, Humanities 4 students will explore the critical concepts of “genius” “greatness” and “excellence” through their encounters with the Illiad and Hamlet as well as Michelangelo and Beethoven, and a variety of modern, contemporary and global authors, artists and cultural phenomena. They will write on a daily basis, while exploring a wide range of genres and rhetorical methods and techniques as both critics and practitioners themselves. Humanities 4 students must be prepared to be challenged daily within an active, interdisciplinary, student-centered learning environment. This course requires summer preparatory work, which includes, reading, writing and experiential activities.

NCAA Approved Course

  • 5th Form
  • AP
Humanities 3 AP English Language

Requires departmental approval

Humanities 3 AP is the first year of a two-year sequence of courses that integrates literature, rhetoric, philosophy, and the arts. This course prepares students for the AP English Language and Composition examination while fostering the sophisticated critical and creative thinking skills essential to the liberal arts tradition. At its core, this course celebrates human creativity and intellectual achievement across disciplines. Students develop their analytic and creative abilities through deep engagement with masterworks of human thought and artistic expression. Students will engage with diverse rhetorical masters spanning centuries, from Shakespeare's Prospero to Frederick Douglass, Rachel Carson and James Baldwin to contemporary essayists like Annie Dillard and Fareed Zakaria. The course embraces an active, interdisciplinary approach where students are both critics and creators. Classes blend analytical discussion with creative exercises, group projects, and individual exploration.  

Students are expected to: contribute thoughtfully to daily discussions, take intellectual risks in their writing and thinking, make connections across disciplines and time periods, and engage with challenging texts and ideas with curiosity and persistence.  

Success in the Humanities sequence typically requires: a strong foundation in English/Language Arts, including experience with reading and analyzing complex literary texts, previous coursework in history, exposure to fine arts, music, or theater through coursework or independent study, and strong analytical writing skills and comfort with frequent writing assignments. 

This course requires summer work as well as assignments to be completed over semester breaks during the school year. 

NCAA approved course