This course is for students who are bright, witty, literate, and willing to dig for deeper understanding about the world that they inhabit. Students will read some of the most influential texts of the 20th century. These texts are considered classics because the reveal something profound about the human condition. The observations of these authors is by turns witty, caustic, disillusioned, and inspiring often all in the same text.  Essay tests and written assignments help students polish their analytical skills for college.

The purpose of this course is to look closely and critically at some of the problems that emerged in the 20th century and continue to the 21st. Our focus will be both on the devices and techniques that authors employ in their craft, as well as the historical and cultural contexts that are the source and the subject of the texts.  Students will begin by looking at works that focus on the human condition and principally the influence of existential ideas. By the end of the year we will read texts that use satire to point out essential human flaws and weaknesses. We will draw on a wide range of media that include not only classic texts but contemporary movies, television, and periodicals as well.  Students will be required to incorporate current events and their own experiences into classroom discussions and independent writing assignments and projects. The course will hopefully model inquisitive, analytical, and responsible examinations into the societal forces and institutions that shape the way we all view ourselves in the world.

The following schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the teacher. Every unit will include secondary texts to supplement the primary text.

Semester 1

Weeks 1-3 - Personal Narrative

Summative Assessment:

Min. 1 College Application Essay

Vocabulary Practice Units 1

Week 4-8 - The Emerging Individual

Primary Text: The Tragedy of Hamlet

Summative Assessments

Reading Quizzes
Objective Test
Timed Writing - Literary Analysis
Shakespeare Competition

Vocabulary Practice Units 2-3

Weeks 9-10 - The Influence of Existentialism

Primary Text: The Stranger by Albert Camus

Supplemental texts:

Song of Myself - Walt Whitman

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died - Emily Dickinson

Not Waving But Drowning - Stevie Smith

Summative Assessment

Reading Quizzes

Objective Test

Timed Writing - Rhetorical Analysis

Vocabulary Practice Unit 4-5

Weeks 11-14 - An Individual Against Society

Primary Text: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

Supplemental Texts

The Unknown Citizen - W.H. Auden
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - James Agee

Summative Assessment

Reading Quizzes

Objective Test

Timed Writing - Literary Analysis

Vocabulary Practice Unit 6-7

Weeks 15-19 - Race, Identity, and Individual Freedom

Primary Text: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Summative Assessment

Reading Quizzes
Objective Test
Timed Writing - Historical Analysis

Vocabulary Practice- Unit 8-9

Semester Assessments

Research Round Robin Projects and Presentations

Final Exam