What can contemporary genre fiction teach us about life in the 21st century? In this course, students will examine their daily lives through the lens of current SF and fantasy literature. Themes will include self-representation in online environments, how we make and identify our friends when we never see them face to face, how we define happiness, and how we make choices about what to do with the power to which we have access. Over the course of the semester, students will analyze the texts we read through discussions and persuasive essays. The class will culminate in an independent short story writing project.

What does it mean to be contemporary? What is the work of a writer in the 21st century? What is your own project as a writer of this period? As a reader? These are some of the questions that will guide students’ progress through this course. Reading the work of contemporary women writers in a variety of genres and producing their own creative pieces simultaneously, students will begin to articulate for themselves what they value in writing that is of their time. The format of the class will be evenly split between literary discussion and writing workshop. Readings may include material from current literary magazines and from collections published within the last decade. Assessments will involve creative work, analytical writing, oral expression, and collaboration. 

This course is intended to introduce students to the habits, traditions, and techniques of creative writing. Through reading examples of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, students will be exposed to different approaches, styles, and possibilities for subject matter. The format for the class is a workshop in which students learn to give and receive specific, constructive feedback on one another’s writing. During the semester, the class will also meet (virtually or in person) with professional writers who will share their experiences with the group. Through exercises, journal entries, and final pieces, students will begin to develop their own writing and revision processes. Learning to look at the world as writers do and to communicate their own unique perspective will guide students’ progress through this class. The course will culminate in a final portfolio which will include 5-‐6 polished pieces and a writer’s statement. 

This course aims to analyze the specific literary devices that authors use to convey suspense and mystery in short story form. How do authors pack so much into such a short work of fiction? By looking at foreshadowing, figurative language, point of view, narration style, historical context, and connecting evidence, students will explore and analyze the structure and style that authors use in order to hook their readers. These short stories come from a variety of countries and time periods. Students will gain a knowledge of what it takes to plan a short piece of fiction by writing their own short story as a culminating assignment for the course, as well as analyzing literary devices specific to an author across multiple works. Students will also have the opportunity to demonstrate their own short story after studying the structure of oral presentation.

Literature, art, film, and music are outlets for society to express how they feel about current events. As a reader, listener, or viewer, we may turn to these mediums to escape the world. As the creator, we may find relief in producing a poem or song that candidly describes how we feel about the world we live in. Senior and postgraduate students in “The Beat Goes On” will uncover how young people reacted to significant world events to leave an enduring message that still resonates with individuals today. The preservation of their voice, both literally and figuratively, will be an important point of class discussion throughout our semester of study in this one term elective. Engaging in interdisciplinary learning, students will develop a comprehensive understanding of the origins of the Beatniks in the United States and why this group developed as an important voice in America. As we chronologically read and listen to the poetry and novels of such prominent figures as Jack Kerouac, Joyce Johnson, Allen Ginsberg, LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), Tom Wolfe, and Ken Kesey, we will simultaneously listen to the emerging jazz music and bebop of this era (Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie) and draw connections between song lyrics, text, and the art of the 1950s-1970s. We will record our own reactions to these texts and songs through free writes, also working to write our own creative piece as a reaction to current events. By completing this course, students will understand how literature captures the response of society to particular historical events. Students will see that we can further our understanding of how people felt during a specific time period by listening to their voices as preserved in music and literature.

The course employs a comparative approach to illuminate the cross-cultural nature of human themes. Selections represent diverse genres, styles, themes, sensibilities, eras, cultures, and authorial aims and are intended to serve as a cross-section of world literature. Close readings and literary analysis skills will be practiced through oral presentation, discussion and writing about form, structure, style, characters and themes employed by the author.  Prerequisites: English II Honors and enrollment in the IB Diploma Programme or IB Diploma Programme Course.

The course employs a comparative approach to illuminate the cross-cultural nature of human themes. Selections represent diverse genres, styles, themes, sensibilities, eras, cultures, and authorial aims and are intended to serve as a cross-section of world literature. Close readings and literary analysis skills will be practiced through oral presentation, discussion and writing about form, structure, style, characters and themes employed by the author.  Prerequisites: English II Honors and enrollment in the IB Diploma Programme or IB Diploma Programme Course.

IB Diploma Candidates complete the Extended Essay as part of their degree requirements.

This course is an interdisciplinary requirement for IB Diploma Candidates intended to stimulate critical reflection on knowledge and experience gained outside the classroom.

This course is an interdisciplinary requirement for IB Diploma Candidates intended to stimulate critical reflection on knowledge and experience gained outside the classroom.

Traditionally offered to ninth graders, this course focuses on grammar, reading, and composition skills. Reading and writing selections are made on the basis of the student interest and reflection with an emphasis on adolescent literature, particularly as it pertains to independent boarding school life. From Homer to Shakespeare to modern short stories and poetry, students explore all genres. Study skills and organizational techniques are also emphasized. Within the framework of the Foundations of Learning, students apply their new knowledge of myths and journey narratives in a personal reflection on their own experiences.

Traditionally offered to ninth-graders, this course focuses on grammar, reading, and composition skills. Reading and writing selections are made on the basis of student interest and reflection with an emphasis on adolescent literature, particularly as it pertains to independent boarding school life. From Homer to Shakespeare to modern short stories and poetry, students explore all genres. Study skills and organizational techniques are also emphasized. Within the framework of the Foundations of Learning, Students apply their new knowledge of myths and journey narratives in a personal reflection of their own experiences.

Students may elect to the Honors section of this course after conferring with the Department Head and the Director of Studies. Using a thematic approach and often demonstrating their learning through projects and presentations, Honors students explore various genres of literature and modes of discourse with greater speed and depth than at the Standard Level.

As a culmination of a student's experience in the classroom while at New Hampton School, World Literature and Composition offers students the opportunity to demonstrate and hone their critical thinking and analytical processing skills. Students use literature from around the world as a foundation for discussion and writing prompts that seek to prepare students for college-level discourse.  Throughout the course of both semesters, students will pursue an intensive study of the writing process, addressing the four rhetorical modes of discourse: description, narration, exposition, and argument. Literary analysis skills are developed in conjunction with close, focused reading of multiple texts. Attention will also be given to the college essay and SAT/ACT preparation. Assignments will work to reinforce appropriate use of structure, syntax, audience, tone, personal voice, and point of view.

Students may elect the Honors section of the course after conferring with their advisor, English teacher, the Department Head, and the Director of Studies. Beginning with Classical Greece and continuing to the uncertainties of the post-moderns, students explore the human search for meaning as told through literature. A premium is placed on close reading skills, analytical writing, and interpretive, creative expression in the form of projects. Readings of 20 pages per night are not uncommon. Successful completion of this course is considered a prerequisite for enrollment in IB English SL or HL.