Our Lady of Mercy School - Lore Yearbook (Detroit, MI)

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Above right: English department fac- ulty: Sister Mary Clare Yates, De- partment head: Mrs. Christine Thomas; Sister Marian Schultz; Miss Julie McMahon; Miss Louise Sculdo; Mr. Erwin Slava; Miss Kathleen Du- ross; Sister Mary Kathleen. Above left: Miss Sidley; Miss McMahon and Sr. Marion prepare evaluations. Left: An English student enjoys the free- dom of the new Resource Center. 45

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Upperclassmen English Choices Provide For Individuality With the knowledge that not every student desires to be an English major, the English | department at Mercy gears its program to specific areas of concentration. Although each course entails a certain amount of writing, a student may choose from 20 classes ranging from Shakespeare and Contemporary Modern Novel to Journalism and Tragic and Existential Drama. This categorization allows each student to pursue a particular area of literature, and enhance the overall view obtained during Freshman and Sophomore years. The addition of Mod scheduling and the new Resource Center inspired many Independent English studies and a new course, Independent Reading. This class allows the student to select her own reading material and to contract for her vs grade. The student must, however, account for a 4 4 sm , her reading through a log, papers and a a. re Fs student-teacher conferences. a SS = Although Mercy’s requirement for graduation is rl . f. four years, the program, with its numerous and diverse offerings, provides enough variety for every student to elect courses of interest. Above right: Journalism class guest speak- er, Free Press author Bob Talbert. Right: Newcomer to the English staff, Sister Bar- bara. cnn SPL LAELIA LLL 44

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46 Humanities’ Aim Is Appreciation of Combined Art Forms Literature is a great art form. There is a danger however, at least in our country, of perceiving it as the only significant art form. Art and music are often, even if unconsciously, viewed as decoration or background-atmosphere, a proof of being cultured. Perhaps the most significant thing our humanities program can offer the students is a greater awareness, and therefore appreciation, of the contribution all art forms make towards man’s understanding of himself, his sense of beauty and his relation to the world. A program of strictly English can, and does exist, but should it, should anything for that matter, exist alone within its own cubicle, void of any relationship and unnurtured by any force? Sister Mary Clare Yates thought not. Her viewpoint, when presented to other English Department Members, resulted in ‘‘Humanities,”’ a program unique to Mercy. Starting with the Freshmen, and then, in the second year, expanding to the Sophomores, the department restructured itself under the close supervision of Dr. Robert Graham, into the present system. Essentially, the program is an attempt to bring to mind, or to strengthen our awareness of the dignity of being human, the wonder of being human, and the realization that man is not a segmented being, but a whole person, possessing the heritage of the past and the hopes of the future. During the Freshman year, teachers and students strive for exposure and awakening of the interplay of literature, music and art. They explore man in complex and manifold expressions of self, looking at his highest attributes. The Sophomore program gives students the opportunity to gain insight into and appreciation of the creative expressions of man, from Medievel times to present. Throughout the course of the year, art, music and literature are identified by the style and characteristics unique to the specific times studied. The Humanities core members, Sr. Mary Kevin, Sophomore art; Sr. Mary Linda, Freshman art; and Miss Karen Sidley; music; combine with the rest of the English Department members in presenting the strident interplay of this field of study. — Sister Mary Linda