English

English 9

English 9 encourages students to think logically, analytically, critically and independently. Novels, short stories, poems and plays are used to promote a love of reading and encourage an awareness of theme, characterization, conflict, setting, point of view, style, tone and literary devices. Students expand their vocabularies while improving their reading and writing skills. Writing exercises focus on basic sentence structure, punctuation, usage, paragraph structure and logical essay format. In addition to formal essays, students discover their own voices through creative writing. Students are also introduced to the basic principles of research and documentation. They learn to address an audience without reading directly from a paper, to speak persuasively, to take part in class discussions effectively and to read aloud with clarity and confidence. The principal texts are The Odyssey, Macbeth, An Introduction to Fiction (Kennedy), Sound and Sense (Perrine), The Catcher in the Rye, and All Quiet on the Western Front.

English 10

English 10 focuses on world literature, especially the literature of Africa, India, the Middle East, China, and Japan, in conjunction with the World History II class. Students read a variety of texts from these literary traditions; readings may include stories from the Other Voices, Other Vistas anthology, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories, the novels of Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner or The Thousand Splendid Suns), Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth, or Shusaku Endo’s Deep River. Students continue to develop their writing skills in essays reflecting their reading and their personal experience, and in less formal journal writings. Vocabulary and grammar are addressed in the context of their reading and writing assignments and also in specific exercises aimed directly at improving their skills. Critical thinking expressed both in writing and in class discussion, is emphasized.

English 11

English 11 is taught in concert with the U.S. History course. Students read representative works of American literature, exploring the ideas and attitudes that have shaped American culture. Readings include A Light in August, Death of a Salesman, The Great Gatsby, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Writing assignments employ analytical and critical thinking as well as creativity and self expression. The course also serves to enlarge the students' vocabularies, teach them the process of research and documentation, and help them master conventional punctuation and usage.

English 12

In senior English students read representative British works ranging from the Anglo-Saxon period through the twenty-first century and varying in genre from poetry to essays (general and personal), short stories, and novels. The students continue to develop analytical and critical skills (in both prepared and spontaneous writing), while they also refine their individual styles by writing personal essays and journals. An important emphasis of the course is the development of students' abilities to read and interpret poetry in all its forms. In addition, students often address recurring themes of the course through their own creative writing, in original short stories and poetry, as well as occasionally in the forms of the works studied (such as the Anglo-Saxon poem, the ballad, and the sonnet). During the second semester students use library and computer resources to develop an extended critical paper based on literary research on a major play or plays by Shakespeare. Several times during the year students memorize and recite passages from selected works they have read. As in other grade-level English courses at Saint Andrew's-Sewanee, the study of vocabulary, grammar, and syntax is an important component of the class.

Recent Electives

Themes in Literature

Selections for this courses include This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, Daisy Miller by Henry James The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, The Warden by Anthony Trollope, and Persuasion by Jane Austen.

Ancient Mythology

“My*tho*lo*gy: the study of (usually Greek) tales or legends that often have meanings deeper than the superficial story-line.” This class will focus on mythology as recorded by Greek and Roman writers. Students will read a survey of ancient myths culled from sources such as Homer, Hesiod, Sophocles, Euripides, Plato, and Aristotle, then Romans such as Vergil, Livy, and Ovid, focusing on such topics as diving genealogy, heroic codes and journeys, and the hidden meanings of myth. In addition, we will participate in various projects to illustrate how myths affect our modern culture and lives. Many of these stories continue to teach us valuable lessons, which is what makes them timeless, or Classical.