October 17, 2018

Welcome back to the High School Corner!

Socratic seminars are a weekly occurrence in the High School. In our Literature Seminar class, we read books that are connected to our Humanities and writing studies and discuss themes, historical context, and the influence that the work has had. In the beginning of this semester, we studied neolithic civilizations such as the Sumerians, Harappans, and Hittites. To complement this work we read and discussed one of the oldest epic poems, Gilgamesh, which was written in Mesopotamia.

As we transitioned into classical history, we read the Greek epic The Odyssey and the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex. Since Oedipus Rexis a play, Mrs. Snow came and helped us create a dramatic reenactment of one of the scenes. The language used in this play is not what we are most accustomed to reading, so by reenacting it we were not only able to practice our performance skills but also further deepen our understanding of what was being said.

We are currently reading the oldest surviving epic poem written in the English language, Beowulf, and look forward continuing to read more early literary works!

Thank you for reading, and we will see you next week!