English Electives

Electives are prioritized for Class 11 and Class 12. Electives must be taken in addition to core courses each year.

Creative Writing

Semester course

For Classes 11 and 12

Prerequisites: department approval

This workshop-based course will examine both prose and poetry. Students will learn how poems written in form can actually free the writer’s creativity. They will study works from the Romantic era to today and learn to write in many different verse forms. Students will also: read a diverse selection of short stories to study the craft; write essays about their reading; produce their own short stories to be workshopped by their peers; learn how to submit stories for publication to literary magazines; and submit to the school’s literary magazine, The Drumlin.

Ethical Philosophy Honors Seminar

Semester course

For Classes 11 and 12

Prerequisites: department approval

Should we allow genetic editing in humans? Do people have a right to death? Do businesses have social responsibilities? Should we encourage automation in the workforce? Is it wrong to eat meat? Besides providing an introduction to the philosophical study of ethics, this course is designed to help students develop their abilities to read, explicate, analyze, and evaluate philosophical literature, write and express themselves well about their own ethical positions, and think critically and analytically about ethical issues. Students will consider questions about: reasons we might have to act ethically; whether there are objective ethical facts and how we know them; and how one might think about what it means to live a good life. In asking these questions, we will consider how different views of the rightness or wrongness of action might give us guidance on several contemporary issues.

Gender Studies Honors

Semester course

For Classes 11 and 12

Prerequisites: department approval

Regarding gender, Simone de Beauvoir once said: “One is not born a woman, one becomes one.” The Gender Studies course will introduce students to gender by having them read, discuss, and write about gender-related topics, which are often connected to issues of race, ethnicity, and class. By studying literature and historical scholarship, students will challenge their understanding and explore critical questions about the fluid constructions of identity, gender, and sexuality and the ways they intersect. They will analyze themes of gendered performance and power in a range of social spheres. By identifying prescribed “gender roles” and understanding that the study of gender is the study of power, students will take the first step in addressing social, economic, and cultural inequalities. Texts may include Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, Jeffrey Eugenides’s Middlesex and Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice or Twelfth Night

Modernism: A Culture Honors

Semester course

For Classes 11 and 12

Prerequisites: department approval

This English course explores a diverse array of American Modernist writers. The Modernism movement spanned the decades from the 1910s to the mid-1940s, an imaginative, haunting, and progressive period of global history. This artistic period disrupted traditional expectations of literature, welcomed new voices, and, with the help of widely circulated literary magazines, popularized the young writers of this era. We will examine the effects of this historical time on writers. Throughout this course, students will read poetry and fiction, explore various arts movements within the Modern era, and explore how turn-of-the-century advancements spurred the global artistic and literary culture of Modernism. Students will read and write as both literary and historical scholars.

The Rise of Gothic and Horror in Literature Honors Semester

course

For Classes 11 and 12

Prerequisites: department approval

“We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.” Stephen King’s observation provides insight into the rise of the Gothic novel and the sustained popularity of horror as a genre in literature and film. These genres explore social anxieties and let us feel the effects of confronting these fears in an often cathartic manner. Starting with 19th century Gothic novels and continuing to the modern day, we will explore the development and place of Gothic and horror in society over time, focusing on themes and topics such as science, knowledge, the supernatural, good and evil, humanity, gender and sexuality, the unknown, self-image, and truth. Students will be responsible for daily reading that will serve as the basis for this seminar-style class. Assessments will include participation in daily discussions, weekly written responses, research-based projects, and analytical essays.

Sports Literature Semester

course

For Classes 11 and 12

Prerequisites: department approval

Nearly every known culture in human history has been fascinated with sport. Equally as important as the competition itself, we love watching and learning about players, teams, games, and so many other related topics. We’re enamored by the stories: The “Miracle on Ice”, the Red Sox 2004 ALCS comeback, and Phidippides’ running accomplishment at the Battle of Marathon. Sports Literature will examine the unique relationship between sports and society through the writings of contemporary authors, columnists, and other media. Reading in the course is selected to be highly interesting and thought provoking. Text selections will include informational text, biographies, commentary, and poetry. Writing in this course will include argument, informative, and narrative pieces.

Journalism Semester course

For Classes 11 and 12

Prerequisites: department approval

Our community is filled with voices, and this class offers the chance for you to let them be heard. This elective for Classes 11 and 12 is an introduction to the basics of journalism. We learn how to conduct an interview, report on a story, and deliver it to the public. Special emphasis is given to news, features, editorial, and sports writing. Students may visit local newspaper offices and attend student journalism conferences. The teacher of the course may serve as the advisor to The View.