Culture and language, being so inextricably interwoven, are foundational to the life experience of all people. For the student of language, the study of culture profoundly enriches scope and purpose, providing a cosmos in which language flourishes.

The Classical Culture Series at Sparhawk School provides our students with a powerful base in the birth and development of Western civilization as experienced through both classical and Romance lenses.  Students will develop an overarching understanding of the essential political, philosophical, literary, artistic, religious, and scientific movements, without which one is unable to grasp the interconnectedness of these cultures.

Ninth Grade
PRINCIPIUM NOSTRUM: Graeco-Roman Civilization and the Rise of Christianity

Our course of presentations begins by narrating the remarkable synthesis of Graeco-Roman cultures and Judeo-Christian traditions that has characterized Western civilization.  From its origins in Homeric and Hesiodic mythology to its literary expressions in Attic drama and philosophy, we first study the creative genius of the Greeks.  We then examine in turn the dramatic rise of the Roman Republic and Empire, focusing in particular on the diverse poetic masterpieces that emerged within this period.  An examination of the rise of Christianity concludes our survey. 

Tenth Grade
NOVUS ORDO SAECULORUM: Of Pagans, Christians and Barbarians

A ravaging horde of barbarian tribesmen radically disrupted the synthesis of Graeco-Roman antiquity and the Judeo-Christian tradition that had been achieved. While relating the momentous collapse of Rome and its political satellites, our survey resumes with two transitional figures, Augustine of Hippo and Boethius.  We then turn to Rome’s counterpart in the East, Constantinople, focusing upon continuity and change in the classical traditions of the Byzantine Empire.  In particular, we will consider the growing influence of Islam.  Returning to the West, we examine the principal characteristics of the early mediaeval epoch: feudalism, the papacy, the Inquisition and the Crusades.  We finish with a brief account of the fall of Constantinople in 1453, a cataclysmic event that nonetheless inaugurated a period of unrivalled creativity in Western Europe.

Eleventh Grade
PRIMAVERA: The High Middle Ages and the Renaissance

The emergence of the Romance literatures in Spain, Italy and France, leavened by an increasing awareness of classical antecedents marks the height of the mediaeval period.  From Arthurian legend to La Divina Commedia, we explore these literary developments and their cultural significance.  Music, art, philosophy and theology also experienced a period of dramatic evolution, and the work of some representative practitioners of all these disciplines is considered.  Minority populations of Jews and Muslims also exercised a significant influence, and we investigate their experiences in these tumultuous times.  With the ‘rebirth’ of interest in the classics, we then narrate the advent of the Renaissance humanism and its revival of the classical aesthetic.  From Machiavelli to Michelangelo, we scrutinize developments in Italy, focusing upon the imperishable legacy of art, architecture, philosophy and poetry that the humanists bequeathed us.

Twelfth Grade
EUROPA TRIUMPHANS :

The diffusion of Renaissance ideals into Northern Europe created particular controversy with respect to religious issues.  When an Augustinian monk in the obscure university town of Wittenberg protested the corruption within the Catholic Church, he unwittingly set in motion a process that unraveled the fabric of medieval Christendom.  From the Reformation and the Counter Reformation and the wars of religion, we examine the formation of national identities in continental Europe.  The rise of science, religio-philosophical skepticism and the encounter with global cultures during the Age of Exploration all transformed European identity, and we examine each of these influences in depth.  We complete our series of presentations where we started: the Graeco-Roman past, as French novelists and dramatists refashioned it to fit the ideals of the Sun King, Louis XIV. With an exposition of the developing tension between democratic ferment and the insistence upon monarchical prerogatives, we set the stage for modernity.      

Classical Languages: Ancient Greek & Latin

Romance Languages: Italian, French & Spanish