SEMINARS

Freedom Laboratory: the American Experiment

Freedom Lab examines American Democracy. We term this a “laboratory” because it is both experimental and collaborative. We’ll consider maps, speeches, poems, wars, slave voices, and the mythical monsters of New World travel narratives. Our American “history” is made up of many voices, often speaking in contradiction. Our experimental laboratory will be a place to puzzle out, piece together, explore, and play. From Caliban to Thomas Jefferson; from Sojourner Truth to George Floyd, we ask: what is this experience/place we call “America?” Who built the railroads? Who designed Washington, DC? What does it mean to say that Columbus “discovered” a place where people already lived? Whose “freedom” was proclaimed by the American Revolution, and whose was not?

Caves and Shadows: From Plato to Ralph Ellison

Trapped, helpless, and unable to move. This is the predicament described by Plato in Book VII of The Republic, the 2500+ year old “Allegory of the Cave.” Plato’s prisoners do not seem to know that they are underground: they are ignorant of the sun, grass, or ocean. Their entire reality--what these locked-down bodies know --consists of shadow-shows that Plato’s cave-dwellers have learned to perceive as “the world.” This theatre is the only show in town. Someone, apparently, would like these prisoners to remain both ignorant--and distracted. The only (literal? figurative?) exit for these prisoners, reveals Plato, is through philosophical growth. Plato calls this route, a see-sawing, back-and-forth exchange, “dialectic.” Dialectic is the only tool that opens the way out of the cave; but, according to Plato, most prefer to stay tuned to the puppet show. Are we humans still (forever?) cave dwellers? Later writers keep us guessing: are we in the cave? Can we tell the difference?

Latin Immersion and Roman History

We’ll encounter Roman gladiators, senators, women and slaves. Students will discover Pompeii and meet the Imperium Romanum. Latin is a central part of the curriculum at most NYC private schools (Brooklyn Friends, Brearley, et. al.) and has also been shown to help considerably with both the GMAT and the LSAT. Forest Seminar students will learn Latin via an immersive natural language method.

FOREST GAMES

Geography and the Bird’s Eye View

What is a map? How do we use maps? And how do maps represent the world? These questions will animate a series of exercises and lessons about geography, navigation, and representation. Equipped with maps of Prospect Park, students will learn how to use a compass. We will compare the synoptic bird’s eye view of a map to our on-the-ground experience. What details are lost in a map? What perspective is gained? We will explore the interplay between sky-view and ground-view by adding our own notes—stories, pictures, observations, etc.—to make a new map of Prospect Park. We will also investigate the political history of maps; from colonial renderings of the newly discovered continents to the racial descrimination of redlining, from gerrymandering voting districts to the borders lines that divide the countries of the world.

Between Blades of Grass: Adventures with Insects

When we look down into the grass, an invisible world is revealed. Insects are everywhere, but they are rarely investigated deeply. Students will explore the park to find strange insects foraging and laying eggs in unexamined nooks and crannies. We will photograph noteworthy insects, draw them, and write down our observations of their behavior. We will also consult an encyclopedia to learn more. Finally, based on their adventures in the miniaturized, insect world, students will do a creative project in response to the question: What would it be like to be an insect, where a blade of grass appears as tall as a building? These projects can be done in writing, drawing, dance or other mediums.

Drawing with the Sun

On a sunny day in the 19th century, naturalist Anna Atkins placed ferns on a piece of paper. When she washed the paper, a white silhouette of the ferns appeared against a deep blue background. This photographic process is known as cyanotype, which involves a nontoxic emulsion that turns blue in direct sunlight. Like Anna Atkins, Forest Seminar students will gather leaves and other flora from Prospect Park. With these, students will then learn to play with the sun to produce images.