By Georgina Murphy

Even though the 2025-2026 school year is coming to an end, course selection for the 26-27 school year is only beginning. For next year, the Humanities Department has a multitude of exciting changes, opportunities, and courses in store. The first fundamental change is that starting next year, the Humanities Department will no longer be called the Humanities Department, but will instead be known as the History and Social Sciences Department. It was changed because Humanities is quite a broad topic, and the designation of History and Social Sciences is much more fitting to the overall program. Furthermore, there are around eleven new courses for next year. This includes: Environmental Economics and Policy, History of American Immigration Policy and Trends, Macroeconomic Policy: Efficiency, Equity, and the Global Economy, Microeconomic Decision-Making: Rational Choice or Behavioral Bias, New York Through Art and Architecture, Ocean in World History, World Religions, China and India Since World War II, Civil Rights and Black History in the 20th Century, and Cooperation and Conflict in the 20th and 21st Centuries.

Ms. Everett, Chair of the Humanities Department and Upper School Humanities teacher, explained that it has been a multi-year process choosing and developing these new courses.  The first step was reorganizing the average student curriculum and course progression. In years past, students usually took World History I in 9th grade, World History II in 10th grade, American History in 11th grade, and then they could choose an AP or non-AP Humanities elective to take in 12th grade. However, starting with the Class of 2028, students are required to takee a consolidated World History I and II in 9th grade, American history in 10th grade, and can choose from a variety of Humanities classes geared to their specific interests in 11th and 12th grade. This put pressure on the department to develop a strong curriculum for students with a multitude of options and interesting courses.

When asked what course she recommended, Ms. Everett says, “They are all fantastic options. Students will be most successful in something that they are most interested in.”  Furthermore, Ms. Everett explains that when the department was deciding the difficulty of the course—whether a course was a standard difficulty or AP-level course—the department “thought about which level was the best fit for each course.”

One class that will not be returning next year is Economics and Politics. However, it will be replaced with Microeconomic Decision-Making, Macroeconomic Policy, and Environment Economics and Policy. Furthermore, two classes that were proposed for next school year—Break Throughs: History of Invention and Environmental History through Transformative Events—will not be running next year due to a lack of student interest, but hopefully will be offered in the 2027-2028 school year.

Even though it is not a new course, Historical Research is still a note-worthy class. In Historical Research, students come in with a personal history-related research project, and throughout the semester they gather research and make presentations that they present to their peers and receive peer feedback for. Unlike Science Research, Historical Research is only half a semester long.

It’s clear the Humanities Department has many new courses in store for students next school year, so it is definitely worth a look at the curriculum guide!