English

Students are required to take an English class during every semester of their enrollment at ASL, regardless of the number of English credits they may have accumulated. All Grade 9 students enroll in English 9; all Grade 10 students enroll in English 10. Grade 11 and 12 students choose a different elective English course each semester.

The central goals of a good education are to engage a free and open mind, excite empathy and passion, nurture the habits and values of a citizenry, and ultimately lead students to think for themselves. In the English department, students read a variety of challenging texts to promote critical thinking and stimulate reflection. These represent diverse perspectives and include prose—both fiction and nonfiction—drama and poetry. In partnership with reading texts closely and writing across a range of genres, students cultivate increasingly dynamic speaking and listening skills, including a commitment to respect and equity at the Harkness table. All courses are designed and taught to enable students to develop their skills in all four pillars of our program: reading, writing, speaking and listening.

The department sponsors Jambalaya, a student-led literary and arts magazine that accepts submissions from all students. We also sponsor the Writers Seminar, whose members work with a writer-in-residence over the course of the school year. Applications for the following year's Writers Seminar are accepted from current Grade 10 and 11 students in the preceding spring. The students selected participate in the program for one year.

Grade 11 and 12 English electives

The English department offers a range of elective courses, each course providing the opportunity for sustained inquiry into a given topic, genre or place. Electives engage students as readers, writers, speakers and listeners—deepening, enriching and advancing the skills and understandings cultivated in English 9 and 10. By the end of the electives program, students are close readers sensitive to the nuances of diverse texts, thoughtful writers attuned to their own writing process, and dynamic discussion participants actively engaged as speakers and listeners. Each semester, students in Grades 11 and 12 take at least one elective course; journalism courses must be taken in conjunction with another English course. Some students elect to take one or both of the AP English examinations; for those students, a series of preparation sessions is offered each spring.

Anticipated semester I	Anticipated semester II	Anticipated semesters I & II
Special Topics in Literature British Literature Literature of Migration Individual and Society in Literature Literature and Art Craft of Writing Post-colonial Literature	Literary Non-Fiction Gender in Literature Literary Rule Breakers Dramatic Literature and Performance Shakespeare Mythology	Poetry American Literature Literature and Film Middle Eastern Literature

Anticipated semester I

Anticipated semester II

Anticipated semesters I & II

Special Topics in Literature

British Literature

Literature of Migration

Individual and Society in Literature

Literature and Art

Craft of Writing

Post-colonial Literature

Literary Non-Fiction

Gender in Literature

Literary Rule Breakers

Dramatic Literature and Performance

Shakespeare

Mythology

Poetry

American Literature

Literature and Film

Middle Eastern Literature

American Literature

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester I and II

What does the term "American" encompass, imply and ask? How does literature from the United States reflect, question, challenge or reshape our understandings of America? The literature studied in this course is drawn from America’s multicultural heritage and focuses on selected themes and cultural, historical and aesthetic issues. We read a broad range of works that give voice to diverse perspectives on American identity and society. We read a balance of contemporary and traditional readings and look at their relevance today. Reading lists typically include authors such as Alcott, Cheever, Coates, Chopin, Ellison, Fitzgerald, Gyasi, Hawthorne, Hughes, Hurston, Krakauer, Long Soldier, Miller, McCarthy, Morrison, Proulx, Silko, Tan, Thoreau, Whitman and Wright. Students practice their writing skills through a variety of genres, ranging from the analytical essay to personal writing to poetry.

British Literature

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester I

Literary London: This course explores London's rich literary tradition from Chaucer’s day to the present. How has London served as a muse for writers and artists? How have writers influenced our understanding of London today and London of the past? A balance of traditional and contemporary readings enhances students' knowledge of literary techniques, movements and cultural and literary concerns. Each semester’s readings may include works by London-based writers, such as Patience Agbabi, James Berry, William Blake, Samuel Coleridge, Charles Dickens, Olaudah Equiano, Caleb Femi, Aminatta Forna, William Shakespeare, Warsan Shire, Zadie Smith, Roger Robinson, Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, William Wordsworth and W.B. Yeats. Students practice their writing skills through a variety of genres, ranging from the analytical essay to personal response to poetry.

Craft of Writing

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester I

Craft of Writing provides continuing writing instruction in a variety of forms, including but not limited to, personal writing, argumentative writing and fiction. Designed for students who are interested in developing sophistication, nuance and voice in their writing, this course includes a variety of assignments focused on elements such as voice and audience, perspective, rhetoric, tone and mood, narrative distance, image and sound, theme and metaphor. Students have wide-ranging choice regarding writing topics and forms; instruction focuses on skill and craft. Students read actively and analytically, with a focus on the writer’s craft, and they bring multiple pieces of writing through a drafting and revision process. A writers workshop format allows students to write and revise in a supportive atmosphere. Students must demonstrate a readiness to share their work at all stages and to respond sensitively to the work of their classmates.

Dramatic Literature and Performance

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester II

Drawing on the riches of London's theatrical culture, this course explores the nature of dramatic literature and dramatic production. The aim is to develop a clearer understanding of the genre by reading and experiencing a range of classical and contemporary plays to grapple with theater’s immense history as well as its potential and impact today. Alongside our reading and writing for and about performance in the space of our classroom, we see and consider several productions taking place on the London stage. Though the plays that we attend are chosen from current offerings in London and therefore vary from year to year, a consistent theme of our course is representation and identity in theater, literature and society, especially in terms of ability, gender, race and sexuality. The plays we see together are central to our study of dramatic literature, so students should be aware that this course requires attendance at several evening performances. The cost of tickets is covered by the English department budget.

English 9

1 credit; full year

English 9 is a yearlong course that focuses on the skills of close reading, discussion and writing. Students practice writing in a variety of forms, ranging from journal entries of a single paragraph, to short analytical essays, opinion pieces and creative works. Grammar and usage are studied in the context of effective writing and speaking, and students develop inclusive vocabulary through reading and instruction. There is a particular emphasis on discussion skills and cultivating voice, presence, respect and equity at the Harkness table. Course literature typically includes at least one substantive novel, the writing of Shakespeare, and selected short stories, poems and essays. Students also develop their personal reading lives with independent book choices. By the end of this course, students are able to read and annotate various kinds of texts and to respond successfully in writing to their own and others’ questions about a major literary work. They acquire new skills and confidence as speakers and listeners and are prepared to thrive in English 10. All Grade 9 students are required to take English 9.

English 10

1 credit; full year

English 10 is a yearlong course that builds on English 9. In English 10, students hone their skills in the four pillars at the heart of the high school English program: active reading, analytical and personal writing, and speaking and listening in student-led discussions. In addition to exploring a Shakespearean play in-depth, students read increasingly complex texts in a variety of genres, including a wide range of poems, essays, stories and novels by diverse authors. Students write extensive literary analyses and creative pieces inspired by the texts. Members of the class speak and listen with purpose and respect for one another at the Harkness table. By the end of this course, students have the independence to develop their own lines of inquiry into a text and to respond successfully in writing to a major literary work. They know themselves as speakers and listeners and have the maturity and flexibility to participate in discussions alongside other Grade 11 and 12 students in our English electives program. All Grade 10 students are required to take English 10.

Gender in Literature

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester II

This course is directed by the study of how gender has been portrayed in literature, media and culture. All of our discussions are founded upon the central questions: What is gender? How have our understandings of what it is to be a certain gender been formed? How does the intersection of gender with other identities (such as race, socio-economic status, sexuality and religion) affect experience? What effect does gendering in literature and other cultural products have on ourselves and our society? Writers studied may include Gloria Anzaldúa, Margaret Atwood, James Baldwin, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Bernardine Evaristo, Patricia Lockwood, Audre Lorde, Carmen Maria Machado, Andrew McMillan, Kim Moore, Jan Morris, Daniel Mallory Ortberg, Caroline Criado Perez, Anne Sexton, William Shakespeare, Ali Smith, Rebecca Solnit, Tennessee Williams and Virginia Woolf.

Individual and Society in Literature

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester I

This course explores the relationship between a person and the greater community, to appreciate the varied ways in which society influences an individual’s choices and identity. And "society" takes many forms: the football club one supports; a loving, yet overbearing family; a musical subculture; or the forceful hand of an oppressive regime. In particular, we examine how these forces shape an individual’s identity, and how individuals define themselves both within these groups and outside of them. The course is centered on self-examination, exploring parts of ourselves that have been shaped by our experiences and interactions, using the readings as a mirror into who we are and what we value. The writing, projects and work at the Harkness table aim to seek a balance between close reading and analysis and imaginative, personal writing. The course's thematic focus changes from year to year, and this year's focus is: shattering and embracing tradition.

Literature of Migration

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester I

The term diaspora refers to the dispersion or spread of a people from their original home. This course explores various journeys of immigration, expulsion, belonging and return through contemporary writers. What does it mean to leave the place you called home and enter into a new country/society? How might the experience of homeland and family evolve through progressive generations? What are the specific cultural, political, and social factors that have created and shaped different diasporas? How do writers use language and form to capture the experiences of immigration and displacement? We grapple with these questions through a variety of literary forms, including, but not limited to, short stories, poems, essays, the novel and images. Course writings bridge the personal and analytical as we learn from both the stories on the page and the stories of those around us.

Literature and Film

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester I and II

This course considers literature and its adaptation to film. Students study the role of the text and the reader in literature, the camera and the viewer in film, and how the distinctive qualities of each genre require certain approaches to narrative. Short stories, historical texts, plays and novels have all been adapted into compelling films, and students spend time studying each of these forms. As part of their exploration of literature and film, students write both analytically and creatively, demonstrating their understanding of both media. This course culminates in a screen-writing project, which allows students to creatively apply their understanding of the craft⁠. Finished projects are submitted to the ASL Film Festival for consideration.

Literary Non-fiction

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester II

In the first book of The Histories, Herodotus tells a story about how the Persians’ children were “carefully instructed from their fifth to their twentieth year, in three things alone––horsemanship, archery and truth-telling.” By adding “truth-telling” to the so-called Trivium, Herodotus leaves us to wonder what could possibly take 15 years of study to master. In Literary Non-fiction, we ask questions about the nature of truth-telling as we seek to explore some of the problems and challenges associated with telling true stories. In the hope of shaping ourselves into better writers, we read exemplary works by the modern masters of long-form, fact-based writing, including Joan Didion, David Foster Wallace, Lawrence Weschler, Joseph Mitchell, Ian Frazier, Susan Sheehan and W.G. Sebald. We investigate how the works have been constructed, paying special attention to the strategies authors employ (such as internal narration, scenes, dialogue, compression of time and character development) to construct ‘true’ stories.

Literary Rule Breakers

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester II
In this course, we look at authors who negotiate and challenge traditional social and literary categories. Whether it is characters who defy normative identities or writers who deviate from identifiable genres, we read and discuss literary rule breakers. What do ruptures in social identities teach us about ourselves and the societies we live in? How might hybrid forms of writing open up new avenues of experience and thought? What kind of resistance might a transgressor face and what do acts of transgression show us about the real or imagined boxes, boundaries, and borders that govern our society and our literature? In addition to novels, poems and essays, we look at multigenre, multimodal and multilingual texts. Selected authors include Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Brit Bennett, Jenny Boully, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Teju Cole, Nathalie Handal, WiIll Harris, Marwa Helal, bell hooks, Bhanu Kapil, Layli Long Soldier, Claudia Rankine, Maggie Nelson, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Craig Santos Perez, Kiki Petrosino, Solmaz Sharif and Hannah Zaheer.

Literature and Art

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester I

What do Beat poetry, jazz music and the works of abstract expressionist artist Wassily Kandinsky have in common? Literature and Art explores the ways in which the visual arts, literature and other texts relate to each other. The course is designed to raise awareness that meaning is not just in the text, but is co-created by audiences. Students intellectually and creatively explore the myriad relationships that exist among texts (prose, poetry, painting, sculpture, film and music). Going beyond the four walls of the classroom and directly interacting with the many visual texts that are on display in London is an integral part of the course.

Middle Eastern Literature

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semesters I and II

In this course, we consider the cultural legacies of these regions through the lens of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. We explore the concepts of innocence and experience through a variety of voices. We read, discuss and debate ideas related to cultural and political identity, gender, love and loss, power and conflict, among others. Students can expect to write both analytically and personally, as well as engage actively and respectfully with peers at the Harkness table. Authors studied might include Laila Lalami, Naguib Mahfouz, Nawal el Saadawi and poets such as Fatima Khandil, Lara Hamza, Rumi and Ferdowsi.

Mythology

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester II

Looking at the continuing influence of classical mythology through the lens of Homer's Odyssey, this class combines ancient and modern interpretations of the myths. Alongside the Odyssey, we read Madeline Miller’s Circe, and Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad. We look at modern poets who deal with classical themes, and explore dramatic representations of classical themes, both ancient and modern. We consider the interpretations of classical mythology of feminist thinker and classical scholar⁠—Mary Beard. In addition to analytical work, students undertake creative work in response to various stories. Outside the classroom, students make independent visits to the British Museum, the National Gallery, and the London Mithraeum in order to explore the continuing influence of the ancients.

Poetry

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester I and II

In this course, students read poetry by modern and contemporary writers and begin to develop their own skills as writers of poetry. We consider how living poets use both traditional and new poetic forms and techniques to explore timeless questions as well as today’s societal concerns. Readings include poems and essays by an array of poets publishing in English (or translated into English), and we study at least one recent full-length collection by a single poet. The course also makes use of London’s vibrant literary scene with at least one required field trip to experience a live poetry event. In addition to writing essays in response to course texts, students generate and revise their own poems inspired by the techniques of poets we study. The course culminates in a celebratory reading of work from a class-created anthology of student poems. Students finish the course with deepened close- reading skills, a nuanced appreciation for poetry and its role in the contemporary world, and a toolbox of strategies for exploring their own concerns through creative writing.

Post-colonial Literature

Grades 11 and 12; ½ credit; anticipated semester I
Students of Post-colonial Literature read texts from authors and places with vastly different traditions and cultures, all of which are connected by the global history of colonization—a history that explicitly sought to subjugate whole peoples, and especially Black, brown and indigenous communities, in the name of social, political and economic supremacy. Although they cross geographical boundaries and draw very different concerns to the surface based on the individual histories and experiences from which they come, the texts nonetheless present recurring questions and concerns, such as colonial and postcolonial violence, cross-cultural migrations, and the intersections of anti-racism, feminism, environmentalism, queer studies and decoloniality. As the history and legacies of colonization are deeply personal to us all, in this class students consider what they can and will do with the minds, bodies, languages, histories, countries and world they have inherited. Students encounter accessible excerpts of postcolonial literary theory, which serves to contextualize and deepen their reading of postcolonial literature and understandings of themselves. The reading list may include the writing of Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ama Ata Aidoo, Gloria Anzaldúa, Aimé Césaire, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Edwidge Danticat, Natalie Diaz, Frantz Fanon, Eduardo Galeano, Mahatma Gandhi, Lorraine Hansberry, Bhanu Kapil, Jamaica Kincaid, Ania Loomba, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Simon J. Ortiz, Edward Said, Bapsi Sidhwa, Julietta Singh, Indra Sinha, Gayatri Spivak, and others.

Shakespeare

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester II

No figure in English literature has done as much to explore our motivations, reveal our passions, and sound the depths of the human condition as Shakespeare. But what does Shakespeare mean for us today? This course examines his continuing relevance through thoughtful reading of plays from the categories of comedy, tragedy and history, as well as some sonnets. Additional readings may include theoretical and historical contexts, as well as thematic pairings of other works The plays are approached as both scripts and texts, examining not only the written word but dramatic interpretations as well. Special emphasis is placed on developing skills of close reading, analytical writing and discussion, and student performance and creative projects. Though the thematic focus of the course may differ year to year, depending on which plays are showing in London, the concept of power is central in our exploration—the power over one's mind and emotions, over others, over the natural world or over the interpretation and adaptation of Shakespeare's work. Students have the opportunity to attend at least one theatrical production, usually on a weekday evening or a Saturday. The cost of tickets is covered by the English department budget.

Special Topics in Literature

Grades 11-12; ½ credit; anticipated semester I

Where does meaning reside? How do we make music from the total noise that surrounds us? What does it mean to read, write and think actively, and with a sense of agency? These are some of the big questions we explore on this intertextual course. We place texts and images into a web of other texts in order to approach known and strange things in new and surprising ways, leading us to our own enriching questions for further inquiry. Students make connections across texts and make connections between themselves and the contemporary world, culminating in an extended, first-person definition essay. Topics change annually—for 2024-25, the theme is “Taste”