By Lizzy Tsuang
Circulation Editor
Read, write, think.
In English teacher Stacy Cabrera’s new seminar course, “Philosophy in Literature,” she will challenge students with major philosophical questions and explore the art of thinking. The single-semester course will begin during the 2015-16 school year as a semester-long English credit for Costa seniors.
“The class offers a new perspective on literature and gives students instruction in philosophy, something we don’t yet have on campus,” Cabrera said. “It will explore and challenge students’ current thoughts and actions along with personal, ethical and metaphysical systems of belief. It will also hopefully allow us to rethink the way we do things and look for new perspectives.”
The course will consist of four main units, each designed to explore a different philosophical question: “reality and time,” “selfhood and identity,” “free will and limitations” and “the way of life.” Throughout the course, students will read philosophical literature ranging from Plato to Joseph Conrad.
“The material taught will give students a new way to approach literature, and, ultimately, their own life decisions,” Cabrera said. “My hope is that students will gain a new appreciation for deeper-level thinking.”
The class is designed as a seminar to emphasize reflection, discussion and open conversation. Students will participate in Socratic seminars, formally research philosophical works and write argumentative papers.
“Students will be engaged in many ways, so I am hoping this will be a good introduction to collegiate-level, discussion-based courses,” Cabrera said. “I want to pass on a thirst for knowledge, a need to question and re-examine and a desire to make connections to everything in the world to each of my students.”
Cabrera first became interested in philosophy as a high school student and went on to earn a Master’s degree in philosophy at Loyola Marymount University. Cabrera is driven by her personal love for philosophy, and she hopes that the class will offer her students the same invaluable lessons that it did for her.
“Philosophy has opened my mind to so many different levels of thought and has really allowed me a greater level of awareness of my surroundings, of myself, and of the people around me,” Cabrera said. “I anticipate that this will be an incredible learning experience, not just for my students, but for me as well, and that really excites me.”
To Cabrera, this course stands out among other courses offered at Costa because of the creative mentality required by the students. It also gives students the ability to explore diverse subjects of interest, keeping it from feeling like a core class.
“I look forward to taking the class because of my love for philosophy and positive past experience with Cabrera,” junior Ryan Doyle said. “For me there is nothing as beautiful and invigorating as intelligent, open-minded, non-linear and emotional discussion questioning the world, human nature and self awareness.”
According to Cabrera, the material learned in the course will go beyond the high school experience and be useful throughout college as well as in the working world, as students will learn about real-world problems.
“High school is a time when you get to explore for yourself what you care about before you have to make a choice to settle in for something,” Cabrera said. “I think philosophy will help broaden that search for a lot of students and, hopefully, provide new levels of meaning that many may not even be aware of existing.”
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