BRITISH LITERATURE II
Grades 11/12
Second semester course
.50 credit, class meets daily
This course examines the emergence of experimentation in literary genres and of the social and psychological development of the human in modern British literature.
Objectives:
To see, in literature, the changes and development of the English language.
To explore the reactions of writers to the intellectual and social influences of the twentieth century.
To recognize standards of excellence in new uses of language and handling of themes.
To sharpen analytical skills about literature and to build or form standards of critical judgment.
To develop writing skills individually through the essay.
Titles and authors to be selected from the following:
Atwood, Surfacing
Conrad, Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer
Greene, Brighton Rock
Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Shaw, Man and Superman
Additional short stories and poems
O’Conner, Woe is I (optional)
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS
Grades 11/12
Second semester course
.50 credit, class meets daily
This course is designed to familiarize students with the major themes of post-World War II American authors. The literature focuses on the experiences of representative figures in their quest to evaluate their individuality and find their rightful place in contemporary society.
Objectives:
To encourage students to examine their own values and those of society.
To develop the ability to comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literature.
To appreciate the literary style as well as the personal statement of the authors under review.
To develop the ability to write clear, insightful essays.
To expand spoken and written vocabulary.
Book List:
Ellison, Invisible Man
Heller, Catch-22
Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Miller, Death of a Salesman
Selected short fiction
O’Conner, Woe is I
EMERGING VOICES: RADICAL AMERICAN LITERATURE
Grades 11/12
Second semester course
.50 credit, class meets daily
This course explores what “radical” really means – changes at the root – for minority literary voices trying to take their place in twentieth – century American literature. These works challenge our notions about the immigrant experience in America; about literature and jazz in the Harlem Renaissance; and about the counter culture of the Sixties. We also explore the emerging genre of graphic novels as a radical change between the “comic book” of and classic literary forms.
Students keep a reading journal, write two formal essays, and participate in a variety of projects that explore the connections between arts and academics.
Objectives:
To encourage generative knowledge and understanding of authors whose works challenged mainstream ideas in American literature culture.
To develop connections between student’s own art field and this course as entry points to understanding literature.
To practice and understand critical reading, reasoning, and writing skills.
To generate a variety of performances that demonstrate students’ ability to comprehend, interpret, analyze and evaluate literature.
Possible Titles:
Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Morrison, Surla
O’Brien, The Things They Carried
Satrapi, Persepolis
Spiegelman, Maus
Yezierska, Bread Givers
MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE
Grades 11/12
Second semester course
.50 credit, class meets daily
The value of Multicultural studies has been almost unequivocally established over the last twenty years, and indeed, in an increasingly global culture, the need for awareness and appreciation of cultural diversity would seem to go without saying. Even so, there are still those who continue claim that our attention must not stray from the traditional, mostly white, mostly male “canon.” Students registering for Multicultural Literature should understand that a clear political resistance to the undertaking of this study continues to exert influence in American high schools and universities. This issue will itself become one of the areas of ongoing exploration in Multicultural Literature.
The books selected for this course exist outside the mainstream of the Western canon, representing a diversity of voices from Africa to the Caribbean to the Far East (Kingsolver excepted). In reading and discussing these works, students will become acquainted with many issues that exist outside the mainstream of comfortable north American lives as well: the devastating effects of colonialism, the marginalization of the “other” and the privileges of the elect.
Objectives:
To gain full awareness of non-Western literature and traditions, and to recognize the continuing pervasive influences of Western hegemony in many parts of the world.
To begin to understand the experience of the indigenous peoples whose identity and cultural heritage have been displaced by the imperial impulse, as well as to apprehend some of the underlying assumptions in Western literature and traditions.
To develop critical acuity through literary analysis and interpretation, and to gain a broader view of the world and its people in historical context.
To hone and polish writing skills through regular writing assignments and essay examinations.
Book List:
Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Hodge, Crick, Crack, Monkey
Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible
Mishima, The Sound Waves
Oyono, Houseboy
THE SHORT STORY
Grades 11/12
Second semester course
.50 credit, class meets daily
This course examines short fiction as a vehicle for the expression of the variety and commonality of human experience and ideas. Reading and discussion of classic and contemporary stories provide the opportunity to review the elements of fiction and become acquainted with a diverse body of authors.
Objectives:
To experience the pleasure of reading some of the worlds finest short stories.
To develop literary analysis skills and to become conversant with the literary terminology
To improve expository writing skills through literary essays about short stories.
To gain confidence and to share insights through the discussion of literature.
To increase vocabulary and sensitivity to language.
Book List:
Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio
Cain, Emperor of the Air
Goia and Gwynn, The Art of the Short Story
20th CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE: TALES OF THE JAZZ AGE, 1915-1941
Grades 11/12
Second semester course
.50 credit, class meets daily
The “Roaring Twenties,” one of the most vibrant decades in American literature, gave rise to both the Harlem Renaissance and the literature of what F. Scott Fitzgerald called “the Jazz Age.” This survey focuses on strong writers who made their careers during a time of Prohibition, women’s suffrage, and wild jazz music.
Students keep a reading journal; write two formal essays and participate in a variety of projects that explore the connections between arts and English.
Objectives:
To encourage generative knowledge and understanding of authors whose work defined modern American literature.
To develop connections between the student’s own arts field and this course as entry points to understanding literature.
To practice and understand critical reading, reasoning and writing skills.
To generate a variety of performances that demonstrate students’ ability to interpret, analyze, and evaluate literature.
Book List:
The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed., Vol. D
Faulkner, Light in August
Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERATURE
Grades 11/12
Second semester course
.50 credit, class meets daily
All great works of imaginative literature, while not imparting truth in the ordinary sense, nevertheless contribute to a realistic understanding of the nature of human motivation. The course emphasizes significant works by authors for whom a primary focus is the exhaustive psychological development of character. Although students examine some material on Freudian and Jungian psychology and other personality theory, the predominant concern of the course remains literary analysis.
Objectives:
To advance simultaneously toward a deeper appreciation for literature and a more profound awareness of human nature.
To further skills in analyzing literature and particularly in discerning the complexities of characterization.
To develop facility and specificity in the writing of formal literary essays.
To increase vocabulary and sensitivity to language.
To improve ability to cite evidence in discussing literature.
Book List:
Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment
James, The Turn of the Screw
Kafka, The Metamorphosis
Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies
Poe, stories, poems, and criticism
Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
O’Conner, Woe is I
