The 11th grade American Literature course will provide primary text interaction with some of the greatest works written by American authors. This course will provide the student an extensive opportunity to study the American dream and ponder the pursuit of true happiness and salvation, whether reached here on earth or after death. We will explore the cyclical nature of dreams in Of Mice and Men, the role of the sublime in man's salvation or damnation in Moby Dick, the dichotomy between civilization and nature in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and the question of redemptive suffering in The Scarlet Letter. We also will read a selection of poetry, short stories, and essays. Ultimately, we will explore the human experience and what it means to be human in the world. The workload for the class will be nightly reading at home followed by reading quizzes on a daily basis to assess student comprehension of plot and characters. Classes will be lecture based and employ some Socratic dialogue. Themes will be discussed consistently while students practice annotation as lead by the teacher. Note-taking will be a daily in-class activity and will be the most valuable resource when preparing for papers and assessments. Assessments will be broken up at major intervals of text progression and at the conclusion of each book. Both tests and essays will be employed in assessment.

The 10th Grade British Literature course will provide primary text interaction with a wide variety across one of the most impacting cultures of western literary traditions. This course will introduce the students to the longest and oldest epic poem in the English language, Beowulf; a tale of heroes, monsters, kings, and treasure. Monsters both human and undead abound in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; the source of our most intense look at the themes of vengeance, scientific progress, and the struggle between Nature and Man. No study of British writing would be complete without an interaction with Shakespeare, as the class will be introduced to The Bard through his sonnets to finish the first semester and begin the new year with Hamlet. Scenes will be performed, dissected, and analyzed in the only manner appropriate for truly experiencing the timeless dramas of Shakespeare. Jane Austen, Romantic era poetry, Charles Dickens, William Chaucer, and John Milton round out the rest of our year with their sensibilities, social commentaries, and sonorous epics. The ultimate goal of this class is to understand the universally human experiences and perspectives described in these texts, poems, and plays. The workload for the class will be nightly reading at home followed by reading quizzes on a daily basis to assess student comprehension of plot and characters. Classes will be lecture based and employ some Socratic dialogue. Themes will be discussed consistently while students practice annotation as lead by the teacher. Note-taking will be a daily in-class activity and will be the most valuable resource when preparing for papers and assessments. Assessments will be broken up at major intervals of text progression and at the conclusion of each book. Both tests and essays will be employed in assessment.

The 9th Grade Classical Literature course will provide primary text interaction with some of the greatest ancient Greek epic poetry and tragedy. This course will provide the student an extensive opportunity to study the foundational works of Greek literature, identify the ancient relationship between man and the divine, and interact with one of the oldest tragic dramas. Through a complete reading of the Odyssey, the Iliad, and the Aeneid students will learn about the home coming of Greek epic hero Odysseus, the myth-steeped Trojan War, and of Aeneas after his flight from a sacked and burning Troy. Following the Greek epics of Homer and Vergil, This course will require students to read, discuss, consider, and write on the themes present in epic poetry and drama. Sophocles' Oedipus cycle of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone will immerse students with the literary themes of: tragic heroes, fate, hubris, and bitter ironies. Despite the presence of myth so deeply ingrained in these texts, the ultimate goal of this class is to understand the universally human experiences described in these texts and plays. The workload for the class will be nightly reading at home followed by reading quizzes on a daily basis to assess student comprehension of plot and characters. Classes will be lecture based and employ some Socratic dialogue. Themes will be discussed consistently while students practice annotation as lead by the teacher. Note-taking will be a daily in-class activity and will be the most valuable resource when preparing for papers and assessments. Assessments will be broken up at major intervals of text progression and at the conclusion of each book. Both tests and essays will be employed in assessment.

Freshman composition and rhetoric is designed to help students think well, write well and speak well. There are six traits to quality writing and speaking. The students will learn each trait and demonstrate their mastery of the material through writing and speaking assignments throughout the year. Students will write informative, comparison and contrast, narrative, descriptive, and persuasive essays. Students will give a demonstrative, persuasive, and informative speech. Students will also recite a longer piece of classical literature or poetry from memory.

The 12th grade Modern Literature course will provide primary text interaction with some of the greatest works of the 20th Century. This course will provide the student an extensive opportunity to study modernity and the influence it has on man within society and within his own person. We will explore the alienation of self in Metamorphosis, the horror and ugliness of solitude and savagery in Heart of Darkness, the loss of individuality and freedom in 1984, and the question of the superman and his existence above the law in Crime and Punishment. We also will read a selection of poetry, short stories, and essays. Together, these texts question society's influence on man. Ultimately, we will explore the human experience and what it means to be human in the world. The workload for the class will be nightly reading at home followed by reading quizzes on a daily basis to assess student comprehension of plot and characters. Classes will be lecture based and employ some Socratic dialogue. Themes will be discussed consistently while students practice annotation as lead by the teacher. Note-taking will be a daily in-class activity and will be the most valuable resource when preparing for papers and assessments. Assessments will be broken up at major intervals of text progression and at the conclusion of each book. Both tests and essays will be employed in assessment.

Mason Classical Academy aims to develop both virtue and knowledge, the culmination of which is demonstrated through the Senior Thesis. All seniors write a 20-page paper to address the question, ‐What is essential to living and leading the good life?‐ Students draw upon textual resources and traditional instruction during their tenure at MCA. This paper is delivered and defended in front of an audience of peers, parents, friends, and faculty. This capstone project is each student's evidence of having experienced a classical, liberal arts education with a firm understanding of learning the true, doing the good, and loving the beautiful.

Thomas Jefferson is quoted with saying: "An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people." As students prepare to enter the electorate within the United States, it is important for them to be educated in our governance. This course seeks to provide that education by studying the intention of our nation's founders through the founding documents of the United States as well as examining political writings of major philosophers, political theorists, and politicians throughout the Western Tradition. Students gain an understanding of the workings of their own government as well as the principles and theory upon which it was founded.

The study of economics is the study of the everyday business of life. Economic principles are timeless and universal. They are an important guide for navigating the world in which we live. Good economic decisions can enable us to prosper as individuals and as a nation. This one semester course provides a broad survey of economics, financial markets, personal finance, free market capitalism, and the proper economic role of government. Objectives of the course are to introduce basic economic principles, to develop financial literacy, to help students make good financial choices in their personal lives, and for them to become more knowledgeable voters and citizens. Two particular emphases of the course will be: (1) learning to think critically about economic issues, and (2) learning the special vocabulary of economics and finance as a foundation for understanding. Classes will consist of lectures and discussion, with some opportunities for in-class simulations of economic situations. Each week current events involving business and the economy will be discussed.

This course will examine the development of the United States from a colonial territory to world superpower. It will focus on events such as the American Revolution, American Founding, Civil War, Progressivism and Reform, WWI, the Great Depression, WWII, the Civil Rights movement, and how these relate to current events. Throughout the course we will consider and reflect on major recurrent themes and challenges seen in our country's history and how they apply to our modern world and the human experience. This pursuit of truth helps us to better understand our world and our own humanity - as Martin Luther King Jr. once stated "we are not makers of history, we are made by history". This pursuit of knowledge will be aided by relevant writing assignments, classwork, and homework to better the student's comprehension and further his or her love of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. Students will be expected to complete short essays, tests, quizzes, and document based questions in addition to completing the readings and participating in rich in-class discussion. In addition, students will complete a 5-8 page term paper that utilizes skills learned in both history and other classes to explore historical content. Students are expected to take notes in their notebooks in a neat, chronological manner to aid them in their study of world history.

Moral Philosophy is the area of philosophy concerned with theories of ethics, with how we ought to live our lives. It is divided into three areas: meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. If, as Aristotle articulated, we ought to view life more in terms of duties than of rights, then it is important to examine what those duties are and how we are to exercise those duties responsibly in order for the individual human life to flourish. To flourish as a human being is to pursue human excellence, intellect, and virtue. How to flourish as a human being by knowing the truth and doing the good is the central aim of this moral philosophy course.

The study of history is based in the power of ideas. As you study history and geography you will learn who you are, you will make decisions about the kind of person you should be and decide the role you wish to play in today's world. This course will explore the elements and paths of "Western civilization" from its beginnings in the ancient Near East to the fall of Rome. We will begin by exploring what "Western civilization" is, or is perceived to be and then proceed from the origins of ancient civilizations in the Near East, through Greece, and then to Rome., with ancillary journeys exploring large ancient empires, including the Persian, Alexander the Great's, and Rome's. In this course, we will emphasize the important events, major texts and works of art that represent and clearly illustrate what is unique and central to the Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman traditions taken separately, then come to grips with the synthesis and opposition to synthesis between these traditions that occurred in antiquity. The course is designed to establish the religious, philosophical, political and economic contexts most crucial to the study of Western history and literature. As such, it will provide the foundation for our continued classical education at Mason Classical Academy that will take you historically through Western Civilizations II and III, art and music history, moral philosophy, economics and government.

In this yearlong course students will examine the development of European ('Western') civilization from the fall of Rome in 476 A.D. through the French Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century. We will study the cultural and historical developments of both medieval and early modern European societies as a way to understand their influence on our shared western heritage. Students will examine these histories using both primary and secondary sources, looking through the lenses of demographic change and diversity, economic transformation, politics, religion, and war and diplomacy.