Meredith (“Mimi”) Garcia had the unique challenge of teaching “Apocalyptic Lit” amidst the COVID-19 hybrid year. Still, the central questions of the course remained, “Will the apocalypse bring total annihilation, transcendence, bloodthirsty zombies, or all of the above? Will it bring people together or tear them apart?” As a medium, fiction allows for distance from both the material and reality, enough to critically engage with the text. Despite the fantastical, sci-fi qualities to apocalyptic literature, Mimi stresses that each text, from The Walking Dead to Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, speak to questions of human nature and of hope.
Mimi’s new course offering, “Globalization, Literature, & Film”, investigates how globalization and media have come to shape each other and our everyday lives. The course utilizes films like Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950) and Walter Salles’ Motorcycle Diaries (2004) to discuss how politics, history, and cross-cultural encounters come to manifest in film. Mimi notes that the entire film industry and how we have come to watch film also plays a role in how we analyze and reflect on the relationship between literature and media—to be both critical of the past and the present.
Matthew Schade, 7th Grade History
Matthew “Matt” Schade always knew that teaching was going to be a part of his life. He recently discovered that in his second grade time capsule he had written that he wanted to be a teacher when he grew up. Originally from Philadelphia, Schade had only imagined...
Vena Reed, 6th Grade History
Hailing from Yorktown, VA, Vena Reed arrived at D-E in 2020 to teach the 6th grade history class called “Creating Cultures.” The course ranges from the beginnings of human history to the rise of ancient civilizations like Greece and Egypt. Teaching a foundational...
Lee Selected for Special Professional Development Opportunity
This spring Madie Lee, Upper School Equity & Diversity Engagement Coordinator and a history teacher, was selected as one of 120 teachers enrolled in a professional development course sponsored by National History Day, a nonprofit that seeks to improve the teaching...
An Interview with Dr. Ari Easley-Houser
Before coming to D-E, History Department Chair, Arika “Ari” Easley-Houser taught at Rutgers Prep and several colleges and universities, including Montclair State University and New York University. A socio-cultural historian focused on United States history, she received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University and a certificate in school management from the Harvard Business School. She was recently selected for a National Association of Independent Schools Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads. Now in her third year of heading the department, Easley-Houser speaks to the importance of historical inquiry for students and how the history curriculum must reflect and respond to the diversity of students. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Upper School Robotics Teams Push the Innovation Envelope
In the past 10 years, Upper School Robotics has trailblazed its own thriving cultural scene at D-E. Now with three official teams, the extracurricular program only continues to grow. Coached by Chris Fleisch, the teams have been able to compete in state and regional...
D-E Kicks-Off Next Phase of Schmid Athletic Complex and Pavilion Campaign
March Madness Alumni Challenge Results
D-EcoNews
