Kaz Homepage

Amy Kaz

Upper School English

Moore 29A

amy.kaz@lakesideschool.org

(206) 440-2793

Wayne Thiebaud. Cakes. 1963

Sophomore English

Course Overview

First and foremost, this course will allow you to read and enjoy some great works of literature. We will discuss the pieces in terms of their literary, historical, and cultural contexts as well as their relationship to the major themes outlined in your text: Innocence and Experience; Culture and Identity; Conformity and Rebellion; and Love and Hate. Alongside the thematic approach will be a year-long focus on the four major literary genres: the novel, poetry, drama, and essay. Finally, in support of our Mission Focus work, we will consider the many purposes of reading literature. In addition to experiencing the joy and intellectual stimulation that comes from reading, we will consider too the power of literature to enact social change. Thus we will read in light of our responsibility as global citizens, and we will complete writing assignments and other projects that engage our minds and selves in service. The matrix below provides a breakdown of the themes, major works, genres, and major assignments for the year:

Quarter	Theme	Genre Focus / Major Works	Major Assignments	Helpful Links
1	Conformity and Rebellion	*Novel* Jane Eyre	--Focus on close reading skills --Introduction to feminist, psychoanalytic, and post-colonialist criticism --Write a literary critical analysis of the novel --Write a section of the novel from another point of view Conformity and Rebellion	Lakeside's Writing Guide A Note on Student Learning through Service Course Policies Eng 10
2-3	Innocence to Experience	*Poetry*	--Write style analyses of poems in timed settings --Write an explication of a chosen poem --Create a book of poems to give as a holiday gift Innocence and Experience
3	Culture and Identity	*Short Story* The Interpreter of Maladies My Name is Asher Lev	--Write your own short story and personal essay --Student-led discussions of Asher Lev --Interdisciplinary study: Art (Asher Lev) Culture and Identity
4	Love and Hate	*Drama* Macbeth Othello	--critical analyses of passages --Shakespeare as performance: form a theater company, assemble a promptbook, and perform a scene. Love and Hate

American Cultural Studies

Course Overview

American Cultural Studies I explores the complex
intersections of literature, history, and culture in the United States—with particular focus on immigration and American identity on the one hand, and religious fervor and spirituality on the other. We will investigate how moments of cultural crossover—among people of different racial, ethnic, religious, and political perspectives—have shaped and informed American society. As we consider diverse U.S. communities and experiences in our reading, writing, and class discussions, we will also interrogate the meaning of “America” itself, what it means to claim an American identity, and how American writers have interpreted the local and national cultures that surround them. Given early immigration patterns in America, our literary and cultural explorations will alsotake us into questions of religious fervor and spirituality, ranging from Puritanism to the spirituality of the environment and modern religion. Our work together will highlight this body of literature and these conceptual questions while we also focus on key English skills: writing, reading, speaking, vocabulary building, andcritical thinking. Core Texts: Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God; F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby; Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass; Emily Dickinson, Collected Poems (description taken from Lakeside's Curriculum Guide).

Course Policies ACS

Units:

The Nature of Education and the Individual in Nature
The Quest for Success and the American Dream: The Great Gatsby
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman

Lakeside's Writing Guide

Images of paintings from www.artchive.com

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