Harry Potter and the Curse of Society

Ms. Chauvin, Grades 11, 12

For students who love the magic of the Harry Potter series and are interested in an in-depth look at how the series relates to the real world, Harry Potter and the Curse of Society may be the class for them.

This newly proposed course, taught by Ms. Chauvin, will focus on the first four books of the series, specifically looking at how identity construction and societal norms are reflected throughout the series.

Ms. Chauvin says, “The concept in my head is gonna be about using that as our main text, probably the movies as well, and kind of just focusing on the world creation and the character identity.”

Throughout the semester, Ms. Chauvin plans on using primary texts such as assorted contemporary articles, fiction, essays, and other multimedia in addition to the first four books to build connections between cultural standards of the past and present.

Ms. Chauvin said that the goal of the class is to see the clear parallels between the fiction world and the real world.

This student-driven class will consist of projects and creative writing to engage in critical thinking about prejudice, identity, the education systems, and how literature can impact readers’ connections to society. It will be offered to juniors and seniors as an Honors Option class.

Women’s Studies

Ms. Berz, Grade 12

What would world history look like if it were centered upon the contributions, experiences, and impact of women? Women’s Studies, a new elective taught by history teacher Caroline Berz, will use this overarching question to guide the course.

Throughout the semester, students will be expected to engage in current events, study history, and choose their own topics to do in-depth research. Some topics that will be discussed include the #MeToo movement, the history of sexual harassment, women’s politics, marriage and society, and intersectional feminism.

This course will also allow students to build skills of recognizing and averting misogyny, empowering women and their voices, analyzing current feminist movements, and building general leadership skills.  

When asked about what motivated her to propose this new course, Ms. Berz said, “As a history teacher, having taught for 15 years, there’s a dearth; a complete lack of meaningful curriculum that tells the complicated story of women. So how can we build a course that really considers women of color, black women, non-binary women, as drivers for the cultural moment that we’re in now?”

In addition to filling the women’s studies gap at Rindge,  Ms. Berz would also “love for students to see themselves as part of a movement to rewrite how history is told.”

Ethics and Sciences

Ms. Colby, Grades 11, 12

After its short run in 2017, Ethics and Sciences is back at CRLS. Taught by biology teacher Sarah Colby, this course will focus on the relationship between science and people’s lives. It will be offered to juniors and seniors who have completed Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (with some exceptions).

This student-driven course will examine the social and moral implications of current, groundbreaking science that occurs in our society. Some important topics that will be discussed throughout the course include access and rights to genes, brain development, the impacts of imprisonment and physiological punishment to the brain, technological advances, self-driving cars, fertilized eggs, and more.

When asked about why she wants to teach this course, Ms. Colby said, “I’ve always been personally struggling with where we’re going with biology in society, and the decisions we have to make around how we apply our advancements in science to our everyday lives to preserve our democracy and to preserve our own personal civil rights.”

This piece also appears in our March 2019 print edition.