High School World Literature & Composition (twice/week)

$495/15 weeks; class meets twice/week

12 students maximum

Prerequisites: Students should have a familiarity with reading literature and writing paragraphs; an understanding of essay structure is recommended

Required materials:

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe;

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi;

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez;

Oedipus by Sophocles (translated by David Grene);

Twelfth Night by Shakespeare

World Literature & Composition introduces students to significant world literature from ancient times through the 21st century. The course is designed to involve the student in applying reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing skills in an independent manner through meaningful interdisciplinary tasks. Students will develop an appreciation for literature through the study of literary elements in classic and contemporary fiction, and non-fiction selections. With a literary emphasis placed on world literature, students will craft expository, narrative, poetic, persuasive, argumentative, and literary writing responses towards the completion of the Final Critical Essay. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to a) Use critical thinking skills to gain insight into the cultural, historical, and literary contexts of non-Western works; b) Understand influential literary forms of classic and modern texts within the following genres: short stories, novels, epics, poetry, oratory, drama, and essays; c) Explain the diversity of cultures and the similarities of human experience as reflected in world literature; d) Examine oneself and one’s culture through multiple perspectives, including through a global frame of reference; and e) Demonstrate an awareness and mastery of the tools of literary analysis, narrative writing, and argumentation.

At-home work: 2-3 hours per week of reading and writing

Note: High School World Literature & Composition for grades 9-10 and High School Literature & Composition for grades 9-10 are offered every other year and are not prerequisites for one another.  

This is a year-long course. Students joining mid-year must have prior experience with High School Literature and Composition and teacher permission.