Power of Words

This is a sociology class integrating aspects of history, communications, culture and geography. Famous words spoken such as: “In the beginning was the word,” “The power of life and death is in the tongue,” “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” and “I had a dream” have moved hearts and minds throughout the centuries. Speeches That Change the World compiles powerful words of revolutionaries and tyrants, soldiers, statesmen, our Savior, monarchs and martyrs. The class will read and analyze famous speeches discussing cultural and political contexts, historical events, goals and world impact. We will evaluate each speech from a biblical worldview with a lens towards what God would be teaching us through the words. Students will keep a “Words” journal each quarter of words spoken to them and their own words. We will look at what affect our words have on others and ourselves. We will explore the themes of words have power, word choices, the power of our tongue and word stories. We will look at what the Bible says about our words and how there is life and death in the tongue. Students will learn active and attentive listening, use encouraging words and they will learn new words. We will keep a running vocabulary list of unfamiliar words from each speech. We will also explore some readings from a short but powerful book entitled The Power of Words and the Wonder of God. Students will interact in groups and pairs, challenge one another constructively regarding their words and examine approximately 28 - 30 speeches. (Not all speeches will be covered in this book and sensitive topics will be handled with thoughtful care from a biblical perspective. A listing of the speeches can be provided on request.) Assignments include writing prompts, quarterly journaling of words, one 3-page* paper on a speech of their choices and one group or memorization project (class time provided). We will have one or two guest speakers. *Longer papers are accepted if needed for graduation requirements.