International Community School – Humanities 8

Mar 2026 · 2nd Semester

Building upon 7th grade themes of limits, the overarching theme for this year is the relationship between society and the individual and the impact that relationship has on the human condition. Students begin the year with a review of grammar and literary terms (monomyth, ontogenic metaphor, Apollonian and Dionysian sensibilities, Ovidianism). The focus shifts to reading various works that reflect the theme of the consequences for individuals who attempt to literally or metaphorically return to the past and then analyzing different society’s ideas of heroism and womanhood. Students also look at a series of dystopian stories which highlight the conflict between the individual and society. These issues will be explored through journal writing, class discussion, creative projects, literature analysis, and analytic writing. Longer works include Confucius’s Analects, Fahrenheit 451, Julius Caesar, and Persepolis.