SHS English Electives
The English department is excited to offer new electives!
Horror Fiction and Film - 0385
Horror Fiction and Film uses popular mythology to explore the dark, squalid areas of popular culture. This semester-long course examines society’s dreams and the myths it creates through horror fiction and film. Specifically, this course will explore the relationship of horror fiction and film and the underlying use of gender, race, class, ethnicity, and the power within. Several films will be viewed and related works of horror fiction are required reading. The goal of this course will be to look beneath the surface of the films and texts in order to develop a theory of the horror genre as it relates to modern culture.
Sports Composition and Literature - 0387
This course is designed to use composition and literature– fiction, poetry, essays, biographies, autobiographies, journalism, and films – to illuminate and refine our understanding of the impact of sports on our personal and social lives. Some of the issues to be examined are: the nature of sport itself, the role of sports in defining values, the effects of competition, and racism/sexism in sports. Students will read a nonfiction novel that has become a popular movie and analyze the different ways that authors and directors create the intense sensations that accompany sporting events. Students will also investigate sports journalism, surveying different journalists and creating their own journalistic piece based on a current sporting event that they attend. Students will research and write a brief report of controversial topics in sports. Many of the reading selections will be guided by the interests of the students and will be tailored to the needs of the class. Students will be expected to conduct critical analysis concerning the personal and professional influence of sports.
Literature of the Abnormal Mind - 0389
This course examines the makings of the criminal mind, sociopath and how these conditions are manifested in life and literature. Through the study of perpetrators of serial, mass, spree killings and other acts of homicidal violence, students will learn how these personalities are created, nurtured and formed from childhood into adulthood. School shootings, the perpetrators, their motives and prevention of these events are also covered. The formation of conscience is at the heart of our study. Threat assessment techniques as well as behavior profiling are examined and applied to the subjects studied. Texts may include The Silence of the Lambs, Misery, The Stranger Beside Me and Nazi Interrogations. Films are used to reinforce literature.
Heroes and Legends -0383
This course surveys various heroes and legends of literature. Students will analyze different adaptations of the hero story throughout history by studying heroes and legends such as Beowulf, Greek mythology, Thor, Joan of Arc, Davy Crocket, Mulan, Arthurian legends, Mansa Musa, and Japanese samurai warriors. The study may also include contemporary works such as The Watchmen and Iron Man. Students will analyze and critique how these characters are developed through different forms such as text, film, music, and art.