English
In the Upper School English program, students actively engage with literary works, explore both content and form, and acquire sophisticated skills in analysis, writing, and public speaking. In English 9 and 10, students build strong critical reading, expository and creative writing, and assertive yet generous discussion skills. English electives in Grades 11 and 12 are semester-long courses focusing on the analysis of literature. Students apply critical lenses, develop literary awareness and appreciation, and demonstrate sophisticated expression of ideas in writing and in discussion. Reading lists feature both classic and contemporary works. In addition to robust Writing Seminars and Creative Writing Workshops, the Upper School electives include Speculative Fiction, Literature and the Environment, Literature of Black Joy, Transnational Literature, Classics in Society, Literature of the Asian Diaspora, Literature of Migration, Shakespeare and the Modern World, and Literature of Monstrosity. Popular and award-winning programs in debate, journalism, and theater encourage students to deepen skills in performance and print.
All Grade 11 and 12 English electives may be used in preparation for the English Composition AP exam.
English Course Descriptions
Creative Writing Electives
Analytical Writing Electives
- Writing Seminar: Rhetoric and Grammar (Offered in 2022-23)
- Writing Seminar: Contemporary Culture (Offered in 2022-23)
- Writing Seminar: Critical Contexts
- Writing Seminar: Topics in Literary Analysis (Visual Narrative)
Writing Seminar: Rhetoric and Grammar (Offered in 2022-23)
Writing Seminar: Contemporary Culture (Offered in 2022-23)
Writing Seminar: Critical Contexts
Writing Seminar: Topics in Literary Analysis (Visual Narrative)
Literature Electives
- Literature of Monstrosity (Offered in 2022-23)
- Literature of Black Joy (Offered in 2022-23)
- Literature of Comedy and Satire (Offered in 2022-23)
- Literature of Pandemics (Offered in 2022-23)
- Shakespeare and the Modern World (Offered in 2022-23)
- Transnational Literature (Offered in 2022-23)
- Poetry: Connection & Community
- Literature of Resistance
- Literature of the Asian Diaspora
- Literature and the Environment
- Literature of Migration
- Classics in Society
- Speculative Fiction