From aquatic sports to printmaking, 21 classes will be offered in English, foreign languages, history, science, physical education, and visual arts next fall.
Upper School Director Laura Hotchkiss, who examines proposed electives with Middle School Director Robert Bryan, said she is excited for a new course in “pharmacology” and the return of “Costume and Culture: Dress and Identity in World History,” which wasn’t offered last year but was popular in the past.
Another new class is “Think Tank: Mind Games and Mental Exercises,” a social sciences elective that will explore cognitive neuroscience.
Gleason Bauer, who will lead the class, said it will focus on figuring out how to best make conscious choices and control attention. The interdisciplinary class will offer a broad survey of economics, literature, and cognitive neuroscience, which incorporates philosophy and psychology, she said.
Bauer said she was inspired by a radio interview of Jonah Lehrer, an author who writes on psychology and neuroscience about how humans make decisions.
“It’s the thing that’s in the air,” she said. “I’m excited. It helps me understand how my mind works,” she added.
New Electives for 2010-11
English
Honors Seminar
The City in Literature
Don Quixote
Dramatic Literature
Foreign Languages
Mandarin Chinese IV Honors
Advanced Conversation: Hispanic Culture and Civilization Through Film
Advanced Conversation: Spanish Director: Almodovar
Spanish for Heritage Speakers
Physical Education
Aquatic Sports
Visual Arts
Printmaking
Movie Magic: Introduction to Special Effects from The Wizard of Oz to Avatar
History
Economics, Globalization and International Development
Moral Philosophy
Psychology: Development Across the Lifespan
1968: Global Revolutions
Costume and Culture: Dress and Identity in World History
Regional Studies: The Modern Middle East and South Asia
Psychology: Personality Theory and Mental Disorders
Introduction to Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
The Think Tank: Mind Games and Mental Conditioning
Science
Pharmacology
