Students not enrolled in AP or 12H for senior year must select two of the following semester courses for one full credit of English in the 12th grade. Completion of a research paper is mandatory in each of these required senior semester courses. These courses can also be taken in addition to full year enrollment in English 12 for elective credit.

This course is designed both to foster an appreciation for African-American literature and to examine the contributions of African-American authors to the world of literature. During the semester, students will explore poetry, drama, and fiction of African-American authors of the 20th Century, as well as contemporary works of literature. Students will examine class literature as it relates to social issues, as well as analyze it from literary perspectives.

Beloved by children yet undervalued for over a century, comics are now critically recognized as a major form of communication and contemporary creative arts. This course represents an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge mirrored by the graphic novel’s common history in fine arts and literature. Throughout the course, students will learn strategies for visual and textual analysis, discuss modern themes in our society, as well as various academic writing techniques. Additionally, students will learn how to write personal comics and tell their stories through sequential art.

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” - Oscar Wilde

What truths do your memories hold about your identity? How do humans tell the stories of their lives in order to make sense of who they are? These questions are essential to studying the memoir genre. Unique in their diversity and rich with insight, memoirs allow us to explore the depths of our shared humanity while also looking outside our own experiences to learn more about unfamiliar places and people. Through reading and writing memoirs, we’re invited to expand our literary palate and discover the complicated truths of our lives.

This course explores family dynamics and the role of the family in shaping the individual as seen in classic and contemporary film and literature. Authors studied may include Arthur Miller, Kate Chopin, D. H. Lawrence, Judith Guest, Chaim Potok, Betty Smith and Anzia Yezierska.

This course focuses on characters in literature and film that either embody those characteristics which a given society most values, or stand out in stark contrast against societal convention. The theme of the human survival experience will be explored. Selections will explore a wide variety of literary periods and may include the work of Chaucer, Kesey, Golding, Eliot, and Vonnegut, among others.

This course uses the invaluable tool of film to help students interpret and evaluate literature and its concepts. Films are carefully chosen to extend students’ personal experiences and to provide vicarious experiences from which they may think and learn. The course requires a research paper based on film and includes works of classic literature that have been translated to the screen. Reading is an important and required part of the course.
NOTE: Not NCAA Approved

This course is designed to introduce students to the genre of Science Fiction and to provide an overview of major authors and themes. Students will study a variety of different media such as print, film and graphic storytelling. Authors/Creators to be discussed include Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Rod Serling, Stanislaw Lem, William Gibson, Stanley Kubrick, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Ursula K. LeGuin and others.

Students will study a representative sampling of Shakespeare’s comedies, tragedies, histories and poetry. Students will be asked to write creatively and analytically in response to the works studied. Modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays and film versions of the plays will be a part of the course, as will a live performance whenever possible.

Students who meet eligibility requirements (85% or better overall GPA as well as an 85% or better in English), and who enroll with UHS SUNY Albany may earn 3 college credits through this course. Enrollment in the UHS SUNY Albany program is not required.

Marginalized is the term used to describe groups of people that have been excluded from mainstream society or pushed to its fringes. This course explores and analyzes the experiences of people who have been marginalized through an examination of novels, poetry, short stories, film and music. This course includes opportunities for students to pursue individual interests and places an emphasis on independence and individual responsibility. Our goal is to explore and understand the impacts of marginalization, to recognize the contributions of artists from marginalized communities and to take the time to appreciate the perspectives and experiences of people who may have different backgrounds than our own.

This course will allow students to examine mental health and its depictions in literature, film, music and art. Additionally, students will explore their own relationship and understanding of mental health through personal writing and projects. The goal of the course is to add to our understanding of mental health and to address and reduce existing biases, stigmas, and misconceptions surrounding mental illness.

This course explores representations of women as depicted by such female authors as Alice Walker, Sylvia Plath, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Zora Neale Hurston, Adrienne Rich, Emily Dickinson and Kate Chopin. The literature studied will range in genre from excerpts and essays to full-length novels. Topics to be discussed include psychological, feminist and multicultural interpretations of the “female” experience.

This is a survey course that samples poetry, fiction, drama, documentary film, art, and multimodal text selections from various countries, cultures, and periods throughout history. In this class, we will work together to build our community as learners who can engage in inquiry-based exploration of literature, cultures, and societies around the world. Course activities include critical reading, analytical and creative writing, small group work, socratic seminars, a research paper, and more.