Abstract
This project presents the design of a high school curriculum centered on the life, historical context, and philosophical contributions of Baruch Spinoza. Developed for a Jewish day school in Brazil, the course integrates historical analysis with philosophical inquiry, aiming to make Spinoza’s complex ideas accessible and meaningful to teenage students. The curriculum addresses two primary challenges: the need to provide a solid grounding in Early Modern Jewish history, including the converso experience, the Inquisition, and the intellectual transformations of the seventeenth century; and the inherent difficulty of Spinoza’s philosophical works, notably Ethics and the Theological-Political Treatise. A variety of pedagogical strategies — including a mock trial, literary and historical narratives, real-life examples, and textual analysis — offer diverse entry points for students with different learning styles. The project acknowledges that Spinoza’s role within Jewish tradition is deeply contested and encourages students to engage critically with his legacy, including important critiques of his views on identity and gender. Ultimately, the course seeks not only to introduce students to Spinoza but also to cultivate their capacity for critical reasoning, ethical reflection, and interdisciplinary thinking, showing them that Jewish thought is dynamic, multifaceted, and profoundly relevant to modern life.