Literature and Composition

In this course, students will explore justice, authority, and power in both texts. Students will be able to understand how the themes present are depicted in the literature by discussing and analyzing it. Additionally, students will analyze how the themes relate to their own lives. Through analyzing the characters’ choices, students will examine how their understanding of justice, authority, and power is reflected. Our semester will begin with a classic play about young women involved in the Salem Witch Trials, followed by a young adult novel about a sixteen-year-old girl trying to make sense of her childhood friend’s death. Students will examine how the Salem Witch Trials relate to contemporary injustices, such as police brutality. As part of this course, students will incorporate their own writing and interactive “hands-on” projects based on the literature they are reading. Students will be encouraged to keep a journal and participate in class discussions to improve vocabulary and reading comprehension. This course will be connected to the US Government course offered this semester and will include many cross-over points throughout the semester.