For the 2026-2027 school year, Wooster has introduced many exciting new classes!! A Few of these classes are part of the humanities curriculum, giving students the opportunity to explore the world through different lenses. Some popular new classes include: DLI Narrative of the Self, DLI Folklore and US History Through Pop Culture.
DLI Narrative of the Self, taught by Mr. Fuhrman and co-taught by Mr. Byrnes, is more than just a class to expand academic skills; it was created to help students better understand themselves and their place in the world.
“It’s about learning who they are in the classroom, and also as a human in a complicated world,” said Mr. Fuhrman.
A fundamental idea in this class is discovering how personal identity is shaped by your peers. Mr. Fuhrman hopes students will question whether understanding themselves also means understanding the relationships they have.
Mr Fuhrman adds, “How is this question that is about myself ultimately about the people who are in my life?”
The next class, DLI Folklore, is taught by Mrs. Herrmann. This class was brought back after not running last year, and is focused on the anatomy of Folklore. Students have the opportunity to dive deeper into both history and literature throughout the course.
Mrs. Herrmann's passion for both reading and history was her inspiration to create this class. “I’ll take any opportunity to combine a history and reading class,” she said.
After the first two weeks of school, students are already enjoying the class and the discussions that come with it.
“I have found DLI Folklore very intriguing. I enjoy the readings and discussions,” said Maddy ’28. “Especially comparing older literature to literature today.”
One of Mrs. Herrmann's main goals is for students to recognize that fiction can connect to their own lives and the world around them. She hopes students will leave the class with a better understanding of how the stories they read can reflect real experiences and ideas.
Another new humanities course this year is DLI US History Through Pop Culture, taught by Mr. Mancini. The class looks at American history through different aspects of pop culture such as movies, television, fashion, art and multimedia. Instead of only learning about historical events through traditional sources, the students will have the opportunity to see how different events throughout time are related to the media and culture of that time period.
Mr. Mancini's own interest in pop culture was a major part of creating this class.
“I was inspired by my own love of pop culture, movies, fashion, art and multimedia, and a lot of aspects of US history are mirrored through that,” said Mr. Mancini.
Throughout the class, students will explore how American culture has changed over time, and how those events connect to larger trends in history.
“I am most excited to talk about the evolution of mass consumerism and the rise of television,” he said. “I grew up watching a lot of shows from the 60s, 70s and 90s, and I plan to do something that reflects that time period.”
The class will begin to run in the spring, so there is still time to sign up!
With all these new courses, students at Wooster have many opportunities to explore Humanities, whether it's discovering the self, connecting history and literature or understanding historical events through pop culture.
Campbell '28
Advanced Journalism
