One of the lesser-known courses on offer at North is Modern American Culture, a semester-long elective available to interested juniors and seniors. Modern American Culture is designed as an exploration of the various aspects of American culture, and the impact that it has upon both history and lives today.
“It is designed to kind of be a fun, interactive history course that takes a look at popular culture in the 20th century,” Kimberly Coil, the class’s teacher, said. “We’re looking at the parts of history that shape who we are as people. What do we do? What do we like? What are the things that shape us generationally and how does that change over time? What’s come back into fashion?”
The class itself was proposed by Coil and its curriculum written by her as well, so there was initially some uncertainty as to whether or not another teacher in the Social Studies Department would take on the course given her retirement at the end of this school year. Despite its relative obscurity compared to other classes on offer at North, Modern American Culture remains important to interested students that enroll in the class each semester.
“As for what I hope students will get out of this class, hopefully they get a look at where the things we do today have come from,” Coil said. “[Students] start seeing how a lot of different things are interconnected and become more aware of the things that impact their lifestyles.”
Although the availability of Modern American Culture for the following school year had initially been in question, fortunately for interested students, the head of the History Department, Zachary Fettig, has announced that he will take over as the class’s teacher.
“I think the class is special because it’s an interactive way to look at us as a culture and as people,” Coil said. “It’s always neat to hear that something that we’ve discussed in class has sparked conversation at the dinner table. I just love that it’s the sort of class where students can go home and enjoy talking about things that they’ve learned.”
