School Subject News Religious Studies | Religious Studies |
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Divinity The study of religion and the philosophical questions that follow contributes to students’ understanding of the foundations of Western culture. It provides an opportunity to reflect upon their own attitudes, the attitudes of others and the fundamental questions of what it means to be human. It is multi-disciplinary; encompassing literature, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, linguistics, art, and more. It also instills the analytic and critical skills needed for further academic study in the field of humanities. Also see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/nov/20/choosingadegree.highereducation Some famous people who studied in this area: Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Steve Allen (writer & comedian), Woody Allen (director & comedian), William Bennett (former Drug czar & NEH leader, author), Gerald Levin (CEO of Time Warner), William Jefferson Clinton (former U.S. President), Carleton Fiorina (CEO of Hewlett-Packard), Lawernce Rockefeller, Philip K. Dick (science fiction writer), David Duchovny (actor on X-FILES), Rebecca Goldstein (novelist & MacArthur prize recipient), Harrison Ford (actor), Vaclav Havel (former President of Czechoslovakia), Mark Hulbert (financial columnist for FORBES magazine), Carl Icahn (business person & corporate raider, bought TWA), Martin Luther King, Jr. (civil rights leader), Bruce Lee (martial arts expert & actor), Peter Lynch (director), Paul Martin (Canadian Prime Minister), Steve Martin (comedian & actor), Beverly McLachlin (Canadian Chief Justice), Bob Moses (civil rights activist), Iris Murdoch (novelist), Freeman Patterson (photographer, author), Neil Peart (drummer for rock group, RUSH),Chaim Potok (novelist), Brad Roberts (singer-songwriter for CRASH TEST DUMMIES), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Ricky Gervais (comedian), Terrence Malick (filmmaker), Ethan Coen (of ‘the Coen Bros.’, filmmaker), George Soros (money manager, Soros Foundation), William Crawley (BBC). The Divinity Department presently has two full time teachers and two non-specialist teachers from the Modern Languages Department who assist in teaching two Year 8 and Year 9 classes. The two specialist teachers undertake all teaching in Year 10 and above. The Department occupies two classrooms situated in the West Wing of the School. Each classroom is equipped with interactive whiteboards and AV resources. Divinity is a core subject in Years 8 to 13. Classes are not streamed in the first three years. Boys are taught Divinity for two periods per week.Years 8 & 9 Pupils study four key topics; (1) The Gospels; (2) Jesus of Nazareth; (3) The history of the Christian Church and (4) The Bible. GCSE AS and A2 AS Religious Studies has attracted up to twelve boys who study Acts, 1 Corinthians, Galatians (Unit 2) and Philosophy of Religion (Unit 7). We follow the CEA specification. We are currently considering changing from Unit 2 to Unit 6, Religious Ethics: Foundations, Principles and Practice. The two specialist teachers stay with their classes at A2. Both the AS and the A2 class are allocated eight periods per week. Results have been very encouraging AS
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