Credits: 1

Credits: 1

This course is designed for the student seeking a more eclectic approach to language arts study and is comprised of a diverse set of mini-units. These units include: Film History and Criticism; Comparative Literature Studies; Poetry; American Humor in Literature; Drama; and Faith, Philosophy, and Psychology in Literature. In addition to the teacher-led mini-courses, students will work in research teams to prepare and present a final 3D virtual world culminating project focused on an additional area of language arts studies.

Objectives

By the end of this course students will be able to understand:

  • the nature of literature and approaches to its study, with particular attention to the concept of world literature;
  • the nature of aesthetics and ideas about literary art including the meaning of being human;
  • major literary works, briefly placing them in their respective historical and ethnic backgrounds;
  • how major ideas, issues, values, and institutions in world societies have shaped cultures, and the effect these have on individuals;
  • the evolution of literary forms and genres, including examples of scriptural-ethical treatises, myths, epics, dramas, narrative prose, and poetry;
  • the ways in which literature reflects the ideas and views of human nature and the relation of human society to the cosmos, i.e., the ways in which different world societies view themselves;
  • the particular expression of human emotions and their reflection, in the overall human context, of the individual's relationship to him/herself, society, and environment;
  • how the literature reflects the major social, political, and individual concerns of world societies;
  • how the arts reflect the major social, political, and individual concerns of world civilizations;
  • evaluate and identify the scientific, industrial and philosophical changes of the 19th century;

    •  

    Reading List

    Short Stories and Poems of Poe

    Mary Shelley's Frankenstien

    The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
    http://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-S-E-Hinton/dp/014038572X/sr=1-1/qid=1167858460/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2002186-3414308?ie=UTF8&s=books

    The Pigman by Paul Zindel
    http://www.amazon.com/Pigman-Paul-Zindel/dp/0060757353/sr=1-1/qid=1167858619/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2002186-3414308?ie=UTF8&s=books

    The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
    http://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Rye-J-D-Salinger/dp/0316769487/sr=1-1/qid=1167858690/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2002186-3414308?ie=UTF8&s=books

    The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
    http://www.amazon.com/Perks-Being-Wallflower-Stephen-Chbosky/dp/0671027344/sr=1-1/qid=1167858758/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2002186-3414308?ie=UTF8&s=books

    Choose ONE of Charlotte or Emily Bronte's novels (not linked but you can either get one from your library or order one from amazon.com

    Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

    Huckleberry Finn by Samuel Clemens

    Franz Kafka's short novel The Metamorphosis