bullhorn
close

Doane Stuart

Slide 1
Slide 1
next arrownext arrow
next arrownext arrow
previous arrowprevious arrow
previous arrowprevious arrow

English

Students hone their skills as critical readers and writers in English 9; exercises in grammar and vocabulary supplement the essay assignments. Major readings include Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and two coming-of-age novels: Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Julie Otsuka’s When the Emperor was Divine.   We also read a variety of lyric poetry and short stories from international authors. Full year course – 1 credit.

English 10 is designed to expose students to a sampling of world literature and is taught in chronological order. It begins with literature from the European Renaissance and ends with works from the late 20th century. The course parallels World History 10 (The Renaissance and Beyond). As literary texts are examined in the history course, historical texts are read in English. Units of study include the novel, short story, poetry, drama, non-fiction (historical) and essay. The course emphasizes the theoretical, practical and creative aspects of grammar, reading, writing/composition, oral skills, computer skills, research skills and literary/linguistic/language analysis. Texts: The DeYanni Reader (anthology), Othello, Candide, Tartuffe, Frankenstein, Oliver Twist, Enemy of the People, The Ego and the Id, The Metamorphosis, Beneath the Wheel, Being There.   Full year course – 1 credit.

In thematically organized units, such as “Parents and Children” and “Love Stories,” students examine classic texts: Chopin’s The Awakening, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain. We read short stories and poetry by Dickinson, Frost and Whitman; contemporary authors such as John Cheever and Wells Tower; and the play Animals Out of Paper, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Rajiv Joseph. The essay assignments, supplemented with exercises in grammar and vocabulary, are intended to help students write thoughtful, organized and polished expository prose.  Full year course – 1 credit.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to what some literary critics call the most elemental of all art forms: poetry. The class explores the unique history of poetry, its importance in the formation of metaphorical language and the various ways it has been used to communicate the entire range of human thought. We read, discuss and analyze poetry from all parts of the world, and examine its special place in the historical continuum.

Full year course – ½  credit (class meets twice a week for a full year).

From Athenian democracy to the Age of Enlightenment, through modern day town hall meetings and Congressional debates, this workshop course explores the art of debate from a historical perspective. Students are expected to participate in class debates, create powerful persuasive arguments and, most importantly, learn to respect and thoughtfully consider both sides of every argument. Open to juniors and seniors, with permission of instructor and Associate Head of School.

Full year course – ½  credit (class meets twice a week for a full year).

Students in this workshop class draft and revise poems, stories, short scenes and monologues. Students shape their work in response to their classmates’ suggestions and to the stories, poems and plays by published authors that we discuss in class. Semester course –  ½ credit.

In this course, we read several Shakespeare plays, including Twelfth Night and King Lear, as well as several others. We look at treatments of major passages in dramatic productions, and we look for common themes. Students conduct class discussions and do some scene-reading. Full year course –  ½ credit (class meets twice a week for a full year).

The course covers English translations of the oldest and subsequent variants of common German, French, and English fairy tales. Modern revisions and retellings are considered and augment the reading list. Classic and modern criticisms, as well as cultural impacts, are explored, examined and critiqued. Students share the responsibility of leading classes and discussions. Weekly responses and three major papers per semester are required. Nearly all content and all student work will be in digital form. Full year course – ½  credit (class meets twice a week for a full year).

This course prepares students for the rigors of college writing. All planning, writing and revision are done digitally. Daily reading and class discussions center around composition theory, peer editing and how the electronic medium can influence the writing process, effectiveness/acceptance of prose and distribution of ideas. Journals, in-class and online discussions and multiple college-ready papers are regular expectations and comprise the majority of a student’s grade. Full year course

– ½ credit (class meets twice a week for a full year).

Students in this course read women writers from Emily Dickinson to Maya Angelou. We look at the women’s movement through the literature of the time period. We compare the language of women as they ‘find their voices’ in literature. The literature reflects the position of women in society as the decades progress. Particular care is given to the women’s movement of the late 60s. Full year course – ½ credit (class meets twice a week for a full year).

The purpose of this course is to present Wilde as more than bon vivant and wit. He was, also, a great creative artist, a first- rate scholar and a keen observer of his times. The central focus of the course is the examination of Wilde as an artist in opposition to society and himself, and his role in the creation of a lasting identity for the Victorian culture of the 1880s and 1890s.  Semester course – ½ credit.

This course offers the student a general overview of Nietzsche’s life and work. We explore how his “trans valuation of all values” influenced not only philosophy, but helped to shape twentieth century (and beyond) politics, theology, psychology and aesthetics. Students examine Nietzsche’s effect upon writers and thinkers, such as Thomas Mann and Sigmund

Freud. Texts: The Birth of Tragedy, Beyond Good and Evil, Ecce Homo, The Gay Science, Twilight of the Gods and Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Semester course – ½ credit (may be used for English or Religion credit).

For motivated students who wish to pursue a special topic. Open to juniors and seniors and to qualified sophomores, with permission of instructor and Associate Head of School.   Credit will vary