English

This class focuses on the question of American identity—who we are and where we are headed. Students examine the culture by acting as literary critics and cultural anthropologists who seek to understand our times. They consider a range of pointed and conflicting conceptions of contemporary American identity as portrayed in novels, films, television, and various artifacts from popular culture gleaned from the internet. Novels may include The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid; A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan; The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz; Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver; A Hologram for the King, Dave Eggers; Casebook, Mona Simpson; The Free, Willy Vlautin; and Redeployment, Phil Klay. Films may include Crash, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Margin Call, and Winter’s Bone. The class may also study selected episodes from television series such as The Wire.

Early American nationality was based on shared ideals and beliefs, including a growing belief in American exceptionalism. This course examines such questions as: What were the foundational tenets of the American ideal? Who was included in this experience? Who and what became the “exception”? From the first early writings of slave narratives to the critique of the American way of life, this course will investigate race, gender, and the political and social changes that have shaped our national identity. Readings may include Harriet E. Wilson (Our Nig, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black), Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom’s Cabin), Kate Chopin (The Awakening), and essays by Emerson, Thoreau, and W.E.B. Du Bois.

Using a variety of genres and historical periods, this course looks at the exotic, eccentric, and energetic city of New York and its compelling inhabitants. Pieces range from the 19th-century Melville classic “Bartleby the Scrivener” to the contemporary protest of Sapphire’s Push. Although the pieces are studied in chronological order, the intent of the class is to examine particular voices, themes, myths, and issues of a city that epitomizes the raw power of the American dream and its failures. Works may include titles by Henry James, Anzia Yezierska’s Bread Givers, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, and Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin. Students may also study the short stories of E.B. White, Grace Paley, and Philip Roth, as well as the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Frank O’Hara, and Hart Crane.

Maine has a special place in the minds of readers. Perhaps it is because it is the Dawn Land, a coast of rocky shores, and a place of villages, wilderness, and waterways. Perhaps it is because of the Yankee spirit and stoic disposition of its people. From Sarah Orne Jewett to Stephen King and Henry David Thoreau to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, students explore the mystique of Maine. In Kenneth Roberts’ Arundel, they travel with Colonel Benedict Arnold on his 1775 voyage up the Kennebec River to attack Quebec; steer a lobster boat in Elizabeth Gilbert’s island novel, Stern Men; and experience small-town drama in Carolyn Chute’s The Beans of Egypt, Maine. Analytical essays, fiction, and poetry writing are components of this class. 

This class explores authors who use the language of dreams, nightmares, and the supernatural to understand the dark side of real-life American history. Originally considered a lowbrow genre, the tradition of gothic fiction has allowed generations of writers to explore the social and psychological horrors of everyday life in the American South. Possible texts include Flannery O’Connor’s short stories, William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Carson McCullers’ The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing, as well as excerpts from modern and contemporary television, including True Blood and American Horror Story.

This course focuses on novels, short stories, poetry, expository writing, and screenplays about the Vietnam War written from a variety of points of view: the soldiers, family members, war protesters, and Vietnamese citizens. Several popular films that depicted the war are discussed and contrasted with other visual images that have become imprinted on our culture’s memory—images ranging from wartime photography to the look and the iconography of war memorials, such as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Readings may include Greene,The Quiet American; O’Brien, The Things They Carried; Mason, In Country; Bao Ninh, The Sadness of War; Le Ly Hayslip, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places; and stories and memoirs such as Santoli’s Everything We Had, Kerr’s Dispatches, and Wolff’s In Pharaoh’s Army. Films may include The Green Berets, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, and Platoon. This course includes a mandatory personal interview assignment with written documentation and formal essay writing.

Is it possible for a fictional story to represent the truth more accurately than reality? Can authors represent truth more effectively by reinventing traditional narrative techniques? Students explore these topics by examining postmodern literary techniques such as unreliable narration and metafiction that turn traditional narrative modes inside out and call into question that which seems true. Readings may include Lost in the Funhouse by John Barth, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jazz by Toni Morrison, and A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Other possible authors include Chuck Palahniuk, Tim O’Brien, and David Foster Wallace. Possible films include Big Fish and The Truman Show.

How has the literary voice of women changed over the years? Can men be included in the dialogue? How does the evolving literature reflect women’s varying experiences? A variety of genres—including poetry, prose, and theater—guide discussions of how women’s perceptions have changed and been viewed over the past century. More specifically, the course examines how class, race, geography, ethnicity, and sexual orientation shape women’s life experiences. Students explore voices from many backgrounds, including Jeanette Winterson’s Written on the Body, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, as well as British classics such as Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own.

Students explore a range of thematic developments in African American fiction, theater, and poetry in the context of major cultural developments since the start of the Harlem Renaissance. Guiding questions include: What makes a text a Black text? Must African American literature serve a moral or political cause? The course examines works from the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s, the Black women’s literary renaissance of the 1950s and 60s, the Black Arts of the 1960s and 70s, and neo-slave narratives and contemporary works by African American authors. Assigned reading may include works by Zora Neale Hurston, August Wilson, Ralph Ellison, Charles Johnson, Toni Morrison, and Claudia Rankine. 

Just as America has been an experiment from its inception, so has its poetry. From the religious fundamentalism of the Puritans to the radical individualism of the 19th century, or from the feminist, pacifist, and communist doctrines of the 1960s to the postmodern experimentations of the present day, there has never been an era in which American poetry has not clung closely to revolutionary ideas. This course examines a number of American poets in depth (considering both the formal innovations of their verse and their roles in society), including Anne Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, Walt Whitman, T.S. Eliot, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, Frank O’Hara, Sylvia Plath, and Terrence Hayes.

Over the past few decades, the graphic novel has gone from the niche world of comic books to a varied, complex, and increasingly legitimate form of literary expression. Students trace the development of the form as it separated itself from other narrative modes and explore the themes and voices unique to graphic novels. Students are exposed to a wide range of graphic novels to learn how to examine illustration as literary style. The emphasis will be on essay writing, but students will create visual narrative writings of their own. The class will consider whether a graphic novel should be considered literature. Readings may include Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Alison Bechdel; The Smartest Kid on Earth, Jimmy Corrigan; and Black Panther by Chris Ware, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Brian Stelfreeze.

This course explores the voices and experiences of American immigrants through multiple genres, including novels, short stories, essays, memoirs, poetry, and films. Students will address essential questions such as: What forces draw people away from their homelands to the US? What systems are in place to support or thwart the process of “becoming American”? What is the impact of race, class, culture, and language on American and individual identity? Possible authors include Jhumpa Lahiri, Amy Tan, Dave Eggers, Khaled Hosseini, Chimamanda Adichie, Frank McCourt, Sandra Cisneros, Julie Otsuka, Julia Alvarez, Edwidge Danticat, Gene Luen Yang, and Junot Diaz.

Through early Native American literary texts and contemporary literature that these texts have influenced, this class examines the oral tradition of storytelling and the relationship to the earth—plants and animals, rivers and rocks, and all things believed significant in the life of America’s first peoples. Readings will examine the historical fissure between the first peoples and the conquering colonial powers that existed in the early Americas and continues as a cultural and political conflict today. Readings include Black Elk Speaks, Lakota; Sherman Alexie, Spokane-Coeur d’Alene, Reservation Blues; Leslie Marmon Silko, Laguna Pueblo, Ceremony; and David Treuer, Ojibwe, Little: A Novel.

Although distinct in countless ways, African cultures throughout the continent have a common experience that has shaped their destinies—namely, the rapid conquest by the West in the latter part of the 19th century, the often brutal colonial rule that followed, and the sudden independence from the West starting in the latter half of the 20th century. The novel and film as art forms created by black Africans are relatively new, arising concurrently with the independence movement. Thus, the work of African novelists and filmmakers is key to the struggle to shape African identity that followed political independence, as Africans themselves took over the African narrative, which previously had been told all too often by Western outsiders. This course will orient the students within the literature and identify core themes that help illuminate the contemporary African experience. Novels may include Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad; Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe; God’s Bits of Wood, Ousmane Sembène; The Bride Price, Buchi Emecheta; When Rain Clouds Gather, Bessie Head; Radiance of Tomorrow, Ishmael Beah; We Need New Names, NoViolet Bulawayo; and The Heart of Redness, Zakes Mda. Films may include Mister Johnson, Xala, and Sometimes in April.

What does it mean to be authentic? Who is “the real you”? How does an online presence influence one’s “real life” identity? This course examines these questions, considering how truth and performance intertwine in the age of social media and how contemporary literature probes the relationship between authenticity and digital existence. Students read a variety of texts (supplemented with critical and theoretical perspectives), from David Foster Wallace’s short story “Good Old Neon” to Tom McCarthy’s Remainder and Miranda July’s The First Bad Man. The course draws on contemporary films and television that address the issues of authenticity and technology, such as the television series Black Mirror. Students also draw on their own experiences online and work together to create virtual platforms that promote authentic self-presentation.

People have told stories as a means of making sense of the world since the advent of language—from the oldest prehistoric cave paintings to contemporary dinner-table tales. This class explores some of the common roots of ethical thinking and applies those ideals to literature from around the world. A unit on ancient codes—including Hammurabi’s, the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, the Koran, and those of Western philosophers such as Aristotle, Kant, and Camus—sets the stage for identifying ethical questions in literature. Students explore how authors have posed and wrestled with these ideas through time. Readings cut across genres, time periods, and cultures—from children’s tales to contemporary African drama. Titles may include Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice; Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman; White’s Charlotte’s Web; Huxley’s Brave New World; Collins’ The Hunger Games; Beah’s A Long Way Gone; Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilyich; Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians; and Sartre’s No Exit. Films may include Do the Right Thing; A Man for All Seasons; Blade Runner; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Erin Brockovich; and Slumdog Millionaire.

Fantasy literature has moved from bit player to robust star in the literary heavens. In this course, students are challenged to investigate and analyze why fantasy holds such allure and where its roots lie. Students begin with a brief look at some essential source materials, from ancient myths to works like Beowulf, The Tempest, or Gulliver’s Travels. The class then reads extensively in the genre, beginning with a close reading of The Hobbit and going on to excerpts from The Lord of the Rings. Other works or authors that may be used include Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea and works by Lewis Carroll and C.S. Lewis, as well as contemporary works such as the Harry Potter series and The Hunger Games. This is a class for the fantasy fan. In addition to the readings, there will be a self-designed research project and an extensive writing assignment of fantasy fiction.

Headless knights, undead Vikings, wandering mystics—far from being an age of darkness and disorder, the Middle Ages in Europe were a time of cultural exchange, innovation, and wonder. Students will read a wide range of medieval texts in translation, from tales of heroes and monsters to scathing political satires and visions of the end of the world. Students will supplement their readings with music, art, architecture, and philosophy. Our goal is to make sense of this long and complex period of human history, while asking what lessons the modern world can learn from the challenges of the past. Readings may include the Old Norse Grettir’s Saga, the Old English epic Beowulf, the Middle Welsh Mabinogion, the lays of Marie de France, the Old French Song of Roland, the mystical writings of Margery Kempe, the narrative verse of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and the poetic allegory of Dante’s Inferno.

What do the earliest books we read teach us about childhood, adults, animals, history, class, and gender? This course explores various representations of myth, folktales, and children’s literature, including stories that were written for adults and adopted as “children’s stories.” While some works may be familiar, students will be expected to sharpen their powers of analysis, both orally and in analytical and creative writing assignments. Works studied may include Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Animal Farm, The Golden Compass, Alice in Wonderland, The Arrival, Persepolis, Frankenstein, The Ramayana, Tintin, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, African folktales, and Boy, Snow, Bird.

How do apparently normal people subject others to atrocity and murder? How do societies promote, condone, or prevent genocide? How do individuals and countries survive emotionally, culturally, and politically? What, if anything, can be done to prevent genocide in the future? Students examine genocide from a historic and political perspective through memoir, essay, fiction, and poetry. Possible titles include This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen, Borowski; Imagining Argentina, Thornton; and Johnny Mad Dog, Dongala.

Using literature from the 19th and 20th centuries, this elective is designed as a sweeping introduction to the literature of the pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods in Russian writing. Course readings may include Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons, Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago, and Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Students may also read selections of poems, short stories, and plays by Gogol, Pushkin, and Chekhov, as well as pieces by contemporary writers. Students read critical articles of the major texts, write analytical essays, and conduct research to learn about the political and cultural context of the literature and the writers themselves. Students should be prepared for a rigorous reading schedule. 

The 19th century in England brought with it new ideas, inventions, and philosophies that challenged the certainties of self, the belief in meaningful experience, and the relationship between men, women, and personal power. The continuing sophistication of the novel form and the advent of lending libraries allowed the novel, with its emphasis on the social changes of the day, to mirror the changing concerns of the time. This course will look at how authors viewed the tensions and questions of self in a changing world. Texts may include Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen; Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë; Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë; Frankenstein, Mary Shelley; Hard Times, Charles Dickens; and Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy. The class is discussion based, with student-led discussion. Film adaptations may be viewed and analyzed after reading the texts. 

Imagine that Shakespeare could view his plays as they have been adapted for contemporary stage, film, and theater performance. This course is designed to immerse students in Shakespeare’s works through critical reading, stage performance, and film in order to learn how his plays were meant to come to life. The work of the course includes critical reading and writing, as well as some performance work and memorization by each student. Students read four of Shakespeare’s major plays. Choices may vary but will include at least one comedy and one tragedy.

The subject of this class is the fall from the Victorian ideal of progress into the complexities and anxieties of the modern era. Starting with core texts that characterize Modernism, the readings take the student through the key British writers of the 20th century. In addition to poetry, texts may include Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness; James Joyce, Dubliners; Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway; Pat Barker, Regeneration; Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange; Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go; and Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. Written work may include an essay or test on each core text, weekly in-class writings, one student-taught class, and an outside reading choice and project.

This course seeks to investigate how our world has become smaller through the sharing of literature from around the world. From classic European writers to the diversity of contemporary authors from South America, Haiti, Japan, Africa, China, and the Middle East, students consider what world authors share in craft, style, narrative, themes, and characterization. The depth of inquiry includes contrasts/similarities of cultural and political contexts, with an eye toward expanding our own. Selected works may include In the Pond, Ha Jin; The Wall, Jean-Paul Sartre; Death of Ivan Ilyich, Leo Tolstoy; Krik? Krak!, Edwidge Danticat; Bride Price, Buchi Emecheta, The Inheritance, Sahar Khalifa, and An Unnecessary Woman, Rabih Alameddine.

This course is an opportunity to study the works of acknowledged greats through translations of some of their shorter stories, novels, and novellas. Many of these works were among the last creations of these writers, who refined their talents into these small gems of distinction. Close-passage analysis and attention to the subtler aspects of the works are a key feature of this course. Writings may include One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Alexander Solzhenitsyn; Love in a Fallen City, Eileen Chang; Gigi, Colette; The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka; The Wall, Jean-Paul Sartre; and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Márquez.

Climate change, politics, immigration rights, fashion trends, sign stealing in baseball—these are all stories you can follow and develop through journalism. This class is designed to introduce students to the fundamental elements of news writing and photojournalism. Students will learn the terms and concepts of journalism, including the history of journalistic ethics. Students will write in multiple genres, including news, features, and sports articles. Classes will include discussions, workshops, group and individual meetings, writing, revising, and publishing. Journalism is a hands-on course that requires active participation and a commitment to working under deadlines for news stories and page layouts. Students will read, discuss, and analyze examples of creative journalism and recently published articles in print or online, and will also collaborate on research projects. Note: This counts as a writing class.

The goal of this workshop is to strengthen each student’s process of writing as a means of discovery and expression. Students write daily to gain practice and authority in response writing. They keep journals as a means of free writing and as a source for later papers. Contemporary essays provide models and form the basis of discussions about writing styles. Students complete extensive drafting of both personal and expository pieces, ending with a final edited draft. A minimum of four essays are written during the semester. Peer review and teacher review are integral to this process. Course readings include The Color of Water by James McBride.

The course explores personal essay modes and techniques. Through an examination of narrative, descriptive, persuasive, and expository models, students work to discover the importance of voice, sentence styling, effective word choice, and intention. A habit of informal writing is encouraged through nightly blog posts inspired by prompts or on a subject of the student’s choice. The class relies on peer review and workshop feedback through revision. Students practice preparing essays for submission to various outlets (all students submit at least two pieces for possible publication).

Designed to focus student experience on writing poetry, this course includes listening and analysis of poetry from all manner of sources. To develop aesthetic sensibilities for their own compositions, students examine poems from a variety of historical times and countries. Students complete a chapbook of personal work (approximately 12 poems) and present a reading at the end of the course. The class is a workshop format, with students reading their own work, constructively criticizing the work of others, and committing some poems to memory. Students are required to study poetic terminology and learn a variety of forms and techniques through application.

Do you ever have the urge to write great prose and not think about thesis statements and topic sentences? This course examines creative forms of fiction, with a focus on examining personal narratives, articles, and editorials. Looking at models of published prose, the class offers writing activities to give new ideas of both form and content. Students work on technical skills that support good writing in a workshop model of sharing pieces for class-wide feedback. A strong commitment to the writing process and a willingness to share weekly pieces with classmates are necessary.