12th Grade English Program

Seniors study English following one of three paths. The first path is composed of term seminars. Seniors in this program take a common seminar [English IV] in the fall term and then select their course of study for the winter and spring terms. The second path is pursued by most post-graduates. These students take English V in the fall and then select their course of study for the winter and spring terms. The third path is an honors curriculum that is taught within the context of a full-year course.

English IV [Fall]  This course is designed to fulfill several functions for Suffield Academy seniors. First, students read a selection of sophisticated short stories and review critical reading and writing skills emphasized during their sophomore and junior years. The close reading skills reviewed in the short story unit also help seniors realize how authors create compelling hooks for their narratives, develop complex conflicts, and often close a story with a poetic device. Seniors realize in the opening weeks that these critical observations resemble the same rhetorical goals of their college essay work. Another over-arching function of this course is to continue students’ exploration of foundational literature in its different forms. While reading the sonnets of Donne and Shakespeare, students reflect on the explication skills from previous English classes and are challenged to enhance their ability to argue how these challenging poets artistically convey their meaning. The course closes with a sophisticated reading of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, Hamlet. Writing assignments are frequent, and students are expected to be active participants in discussions. In sum, they begin to bridge the gap between high school and college English courses.

English IV: Honors [Full Year]  English IV Honors creates a learner-driven environment where students declare a distinct topic that encompasses their passion when reading and writing about literature. With a global perspective, our course will begin with exploring present-day authors who write with a postcolonial and postmodern lens and dramatize conflicts created by the decolonization of political power, culture, and identity. Students will appreciate how their creative works challenge and critique cultural imperialism, racism, sexism, as well as class issues while also celebrating “new and emergent experiences of immigration, hybridization, and cross-racial encounter(s)” (Norton Anthology of English Literature) in our contemporary culture. Authors will include Bernadine Evaristo, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith, Margaret Atwood, JM Coetzee, Hilary Mantel, as well as James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, D. H. Lawrence, and Katherine Mansfield. Then, equipped with their passion topics, students will turn to the past and dialogue with authors as a way to understand how literature expresses the ideology and values of a cultural era while also engaging in the controversy and arguments of its era. In this sense, students will explore how a literary text can be an expression of or reaction to the power structure of its day. Texts during this period may include the following: Beowulf, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Milton’s Paradise Lost. A student-centered unit on Shakespeare will involve students learning a biographical insight that they did not know and applying it to an appropriate text in a project-based learning format. Throughout our study of 18th and 19th century English literature, the course will also juxtapose the American abolition of slavery movement with the political and cultural trends that dismantled the Atlantic slave trade in England. During the winter and the closing weeks of the academic year, students will engage in two literature circles, also known as student-centered book clubs. They will select one of the six novels from the current Booker Prize shortlist. Leveraging key components of their AP Language and AP Literature background, they will be challenged to create literary arguments that appreciate how each novelist is a leader in the creative world today. Prerequisite: Permission of the department chair or the Dean of Academics & Faculty

American Studies [Winter / Spring]  Do you enjoy project-based learning? Would you enjoy working in a classroom that integrates technology into almost every activity? Do you want to learn how to produce a presentation like a viral TED Talk speaker? Then join our class and explore a local history mystery. This year’s class will investigate the biographical details about two enslaved people who lived in our local Phelps-Hathaway House Museum during the late 1700s. Besides writing original history, this class will learn more about how local museums thrive and connect with their communities to create meaningful public history. Employing a project-based learning approach, students will exercise voice and choice when pursuing interesting topics and support materials for the museum. Adopting the role of interns, students will also consider and create the best design elements that will enhance a Witness Stones installation program “to restore the history and honor the humanity of the two enslaved individuals” who lived in that house. Throughout this authentic project, students will come to appreciate James Loewen’s insight about fostering spaces where students can conduct historical inquiry: “Telling the truth about the past helps cause justice in the present. Achieving justice in the present helps us tell the truth about the past.”

Books Versus Movies [Winter / Spring]  Oftentimes you hear people saying “the book was way better” or “they totally skipped over x” when audiences walk out of a movie adaptation of a famous book. This course will examine the interaction of film and literary texts as well as the qualities of each. It will examine the difficulties of capturing complex literature in film and how an author or director’s choice impacts the way a story is received. The course will consider how storytellers convey setting, character, and plot to their intended audience as well as have fun juxtaposing scenes from the text and film adaptation. We will focus on film and literature that convey universal themes and respond to key political, social, and philosophical changes in society. We will “dive deeper” into seemingly inconsequential plots and uncover the nuances and complexities of both a film and book. Student work will center around reading analysis, short 1–2 page response papers, and movie/book reviews. Final projects may be on a book/movie adaptation of the student’s choice. The course is also open for reasonable student suggestions regarding media to consume.

Titles covered may include: The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien; Shawshank Redemption, by Stephen King; The Shining, by Stephen King; The Help, by Kathryn Stockett; The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas; The Circle, by Dave Eggers; Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer; The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel; Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk; Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card; and Wild, by Cheryl Strayed

Dramatic Literature [Winter / Spring]  Focusing on contemporary theatre, students in this class will be exposed to some of the most exciting and diverse playwrights in drama from the last fifty years. Its specific intent is to provide students with an understanding of various genres, styles, periods, cultures, playwrights, and an overall appreciation of dramatic literature as it relates to society. Drama influences our own lives and our way of thinking, encourages us to review our experiences, our principles and reflect on our world view. Some of the plays discussed in this two-term course include Ruined, Woza Albert!, Pipeline, and Twilight: Los Angeles. In addition to reading and discussion of the plays, students will be responsible for analytical writing and creative projects including playwriting.

Multicultural Graphic Novels [Winter / Spring]  Where do visual art and fiction intersect? In this course we will read graphic novels written from often underrepresented perspectives. Questions guiding our study will include the following: What distinguishes a comic from a novel? How do illustrations augment text? What does an artist consider in designing the panels for a graphic novel? Finally, we will consider what types of stories lend themselves most readily to this genre. Readings will include works on the theory and practice of sequential art by authors Eisner and McCloud. In addition, we will read a variety of graphic memoirs including works by Alison Bechdel, Marguerite Abouet, Marjane Satrapi, Lila Queintero Weaver, Mat Johnson, Art Spiegelman, Kim Dong Hwa, John Lewis, and Thi Bui. In addition to traditional assessments, students will demonstrate their appreciation for graphic arts through creative projects, including designing an original graphic story. 

Professional Writing [Winter / Spring]  Do you want to distinguish your candidacy and have your emails, cover letters, and resume capture the college internship of your dreams? This seminar will help you communicate effectively in your future college courses and career paths. Moreover, this course offers an introduction to different types of professional writing, including journalism, technical writing, business writing, and other professional communication. The focus in the course will be on understanding the rhetorical situation, including the audience, purpose, and context of each communication task. Utilizing projects and real-world scenarios, students will learn how to work effectively and ethically in a collaborative and professional environment. This course will provide students with a reference point in terms of how to utilize the writing process to approach any type of workplace writing.

Religion: What is It? [Winter / Spring]  Have you ever wished you knew more about religion? Or were able to win an argument about religion with your parents? What is religion? What is spirituality? Can you define religion? We will tackle these questions and more. This class will teach you the basics of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism and will end the winter term with a discussion of cults and how they happen. In the spring we will explore Mormonism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. In this class, you will gain a broader perspective of the world and how people relate to one another through religion. We will learn how to talk to others about religion and religious concepts with grace and intellect. Classes will be discussion based, papers will be 2–3 pages long, focused on moving away from the 5-paragraph format, and larger assessments will be given as student-directed projects.

Representations of Boarding Schools [Winter / Spring]  Popular culture has long been intrigued by what has occurred behind the well-manicured lawns and brick wall facades of boarding schools. Through the lens of films and shows such as Dead Poets Society and Gilmore Girls to literature such as A Separate Peace and Black Ice, the course will explore how culture depicts the boarding school experience. Students will consider the perspectives of outsiders vs. insiders, common perceptions and stereotypes that surround boarding schools, and what each medium ultimately teaches their audience about such an experience. To supplement our study of fiction and film, students will read scholarly essays, memoirs, and ethnographies to gain insight into the history, culture, and contemporary issues that surround such institutions. At the heart of the course, students will reflect on their time at Suffield and examine the ways in which such an experience has shaped their own identity, understanding of the world, and culture.

Representation Matters: Current Voices in Literature [Winter / Spring]  What voices are we accustomed to hearing in high school literature courses? Are there voices that are marginalized, quietly not included, or downright banned? Who are they? The content of this course will be significantly student driven as we examine questions of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the literature we choose to teach and study in schools. Selections may include titles, such as Oluo’s So You Want to Talk About Race to Kobabe’s Gender Queer. We will embrace investigations into art, music, movies, and more that reveal modern explorations of the importance of DEI in shaping curriculum.