The Polemikon, Senior Honors Program
The Polemikon is an opportunity
There have been many academic challenges put before the graduating class of Pacifica Christian High School. These challenges have been met with creativity, talent and determination. For those seniors wishing to graduate with honors, one more challenge awaits them. This challenge is the Polemikon, a research project that culminates in an oral presentation in front of the student body. The Polemikon is the capstone of a four-year study of a rigorous liberal arts curriculum. It begins with a question and then becomes a thesis providing the basis for a course of study. The student will develop their thesis into an argument that is supported by substantial research. Students wishing to graduate with honors must apply to the Polemikon before the end of their first semester. Their research topic must be approved and a faculty advisor will be assigned to them. Over the course of the second semester, the student will be required to meet with their advisor to check their progress. The faculty advisor will set benchmarks that the students must meet or they will be disqualified. Oral presentations will be done in April. Students will be assessed on several criteria: quality of research, meeting the goals set by the advisor, oral presentation and quality of analysis.
Polemikon – The Senior Research Project – It comes from the Greek meaning “the trumpet signal for a charge into battle.”
Agema – The Senior Research Team – These are the group of students who are applying for an honors designation and will provide support for each other in the process. The term is Greek for “an elite unit or the leading part of a military formation.”
Prodromus/Prodrome – A Student in the Project – This is the individual title for a student that is engaged in the Senior Research Project. It is a Greek word meaning “someone who has run ahead.”
Arete – The Process and Product – From the Greek word for “Excellence, Distinction, Virtue and Valor”, this word describes how the students should prepare (with diligence, creativity, and perseverance and what their results should be: excellence and distinction).
Click here to view the Polemikon Honorees.
Sample Research Topics for the Polemikon
How did the Industrial Revolution affect art, literature, music and architecture in Continental Europe in the 19th century? How have plagues or widespread disease changed the social order of affected societies? (Athens during the Peloponnesian War, The Black Death, Spanish Conquest of the New World, 1919 Flu Pandemic)
How did the American Government handle disputed elections such as Jefferson/Burr, Adams/Jackson, Hayes/Tilden, Bush/Gore? What changes with the system were caused by these controversies?
What role did Betty Friedan and her writing play in the modern Women’s Rights movement? Have the narrow social roles imposed by society changed or do they remain the same?
How did the church combat the forces of modernism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century? On which fronts was the church successful? On which fronts was the church frustrated?
How did the mathematicians of the Hellenistic world contribute to the study of mathematics and science? What social, political, and religious factors created a climate for discovery?
What factors led to the closing of this age of discovery?
How did American writers portray nature differently than their European counterparts in light of the Industrial Revolution?
Has the church been historically weakened when it achieves political power? What is the proper role of the church vis a vis the government?
What elements of Hebrew cosmology are present in other creation stories? What elements are unique to the Bible?
How has the role of the femme fatale changed from its nativity in Gothic Horror to Modern Film Noir?
Examine John Ford’s vision of the West. How does Ford’s vision compare to other portraits of the West as presented by Ray Billington, John White and Patty Limerick?
How have the events of World War I helped shaped American foreign policy in World War II, Vietnam and the present day fight against terror?