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Program Overview

Our goal is to teach students to read well, to encounter ideas seriously and with charity, and to be aware of the structure and craft of each work. Within the curriculum as I have constructed it, I have tried to develop several things:

• Techniques of both extensive and intensive reading. That is, I try to enable students to handle large pieces of material synthetically and in relation to one another, and also to look closely at the little bits of various works, to see how each particular choice of word will count for something in the author's work. Productive reading in the long run comes from moving back and forth between these two kinds of reading. The one is strategic, the other is tactical. We need both to read well.
• A consistent critical vocabulary. Knowing names is no substitute for recognizing what they refer to, of course, and the mere ability to spout off a long list of terms is itself worthless. But God endowed us with speech and gave us the unique privilege of naming things for a reason. It surely has a proper place in the process.
• Literary continuity. All these literature courses (with the partial exception of AP English) are organized historically. Reading different works without regard for where they come in the historical sequence is like overhearing a conversation in which the order of lines has been randomized. Similarly, themes that come up in one course are revisited in later courses. Students who learn about ecphrasis in Homer will encounter it in Melville two years later; the issues of the narrative persona we uncover in Chaucer are never again quite out of view.
• An appreciation of the great works. This is not a "Great Books" program as such — at least not as that term is commonly construed. But I do try to cover as many of the recognized literary landmarks as I can, both because they are intrinsically worth covering, and because they can assume from their wide regard a significance sometimes even beyond their intrinsic value. Both are worth understanding.
• An attitude of humility and courtesy in reading. If any part of this literary curriculum can be considered specifically and deliberately Christian, it's this: I encourage students to attempt to understand authors and their works, rather than merely to categorize them as acceptable or unacceptable. For more on this point, I refer you to my essay on Reading and Christian Charity.

Individual courses: putting the pieces together

We have endeavored to avoid a smorgasbord-approach affording a variety of tasty-looking options that don't add up to much. Accordingly the course descriptions may seem somewhat bland. I like to think that the contents are not so.

The most basic course in the literature sequence is World Literature. It's based on a single reasonably thorough anthology with a fair amount of sound interpretive material. Solid readers at the eighth-grade level should be able to deal with the work, but students through the sophomore year should still find it interesting.

Western Literature to Dante covers material from the Old Testament and Homer down to Dante in the West. The emphasis is on extensive reading: we read many entire works here, and cover them quite broadly, but with reasonable intensity as well. There is no textbook, though I publish a separate Parent's Guide to help parents guide their students through it; the readings are gathered from a variety of sources, and we supplement them with select chapters of Erich Auerbach's landmark work of literary criticism, Mimesis. This course was conceived from the outset as an introductory course for very strong readers, but it does not presume any very extensive acquaintance with literary discourse. A capable freshman should be able to benefit from it, but it has proven useful to students into their college years.

English Literature is an historical survey from Beowulf to the present. We use a base textbook, but supplement it with several plays and novels, and a handful of extra outside reading; the emphasis of the course is on intensive — i.e., "close" — reading of texts and exploring the particulars of the author's use of language. The reading load is accordingly less than that for Western Literature to Dante, but more than that of World Literature. I would not normally recommend it to a student below the sophomore year in high school, but I think it can be beneficial to anyone through the senior year as well. (The course was first built around the Scott-Foresman text England in Literature, now unfortunately out of print; I am looking into alternatives.)

American Literature uses an anthology substantially supplemented by readings outside the text, including a number of novels and plays. It presumes some of what has been built up in Western Literature to Dante and especially in English Literature, and is not a good place for most students — even entering juniors — to start. It combines extensive and intensive reading techniques, and builds on notions of authorial voice and style that have been developed in English Literature. I will consider students who have not taken English Literature, but only after verifying that they have sufficient background. Students who have completed the sequence through this point have been able to do well on the Advanced Placement examinations, even without the benefit of a formal AP course. (The course was first built around the Scott-Foresman text The United States in Literature, now unfortunately out of print like its companion volume; I am looking into alternatives.)

The final entry in the sequence is AP (Advanced Placement) English (Literature): this is a very intensive college-level course synthesizing intensive reading of poetry, plays, and a number of serious novels. In order to develop the materials to the fullest, I am requiring American Literature as a prerequisite, unless a student exhibits exceptional command of the tools garnered from some other source. It is effectively a double-load course, meeting twice a week and demanding weekly essay-writing. Students enrolling in AP English should not enroll in any other writing program as such: the writing for this course will keep their plates very full. I should mention that while the benefits of passing the AP Exam — possible college credit or placement — are obvious and tempting, I do not believe in "teaching to the test", and intend to work with material that is in itself worthwhile.

Several rational sequences can be built from these blocks. I would recommend doing something before beginning English Literature, though it's not necessary. On the other hand, it is seldom feasible to take American Literature without doing at least English Literature first; AP Literature presupposes both English and American Literature, and is only offered to seniors. Western Literature to Dante can probably be inserted anywhere in the sequence, though having it at the beginning makes (to me) the best sense. Here are some of the possible pathways:

For a strong student, beginning in the eighth grade:

•  8: World Lit
•  9: Western Lit to Dante
• 10: English Lit
• 11: American Lit
• 12: AP English

A strong student beginning in the ninth grade might take the last four years:

• 9: Western Lit to Dante
• 10: English Lit
• 11: American Lit
• 12: AP English

A somewhat less ambitious student, or one more widely interested in World Literature:

• 9: World Lit
• 10: English Lit
• 11: American Lit
• 12: AP English

Other permutations are possible:

• 9: World Lit
• 10: Western Lit to Dante
• 11: English Lit
• 12: American Lit

Or deferring Western Literature to Dante till the senior year:

• 9: World Lit
• 10: English Lit
• 11: American Lit
• 12: Western Lit to Dante

Individual course descriptions

If you would like to see a couse not yet listed, please use the EMAIL US link below to contact Scholars Online Administration with your course request.

Students who were enrolled in courses from previous years will find the teacher, text, and course description information available from the student's unofficial transcript, which can be reached from the parent's Account Management Center, or from an alumni's own Account Management Center.

To see details about an individual course, click on the black triangle to the left of the course name.

Summer Shakespeare I • 2012 listing - for reference only • Grade 7 or above • [Summer course]

Looking at Middle-earth • 2012 listing - for reference only • Grade 7 or above • [Summer course]

World Literature • 2012 listing - for reference only • Grade 7 or above

Western Literature to Dante • 2012 listing - for reference only • Grade 8 or above

English Literature • 2012 listing - for reference only • Grade 9 or above

American Literature • 2012 listing - for reference only • Grade 10 or above

Senior English (Literature) • 2012 listing - for reference only • Grade 12 or above

Looking at Middle-earth • Offering for 2013 • Grade 7 or above • [Summer course]

Summer Shakespeare II • Offering for 2013 • Grade 8 or above • [Summer course]

World Literature • Offering for 2013 • Grade 7 or above

Western Literature to Dante • Offering for 2013 • Grade 8 or above

English Literature • Offering for 2013 • Grade 9 or above

American Literature • Offering for 2013 • Grade 10 or above

Senior English (Literature) • Offering for 2013 • Grade 12 or above

Related courses

Students who desire writing instruction coupled with their literature courses should review the Writing Program courses listed below, any of which can be coordinated to use topics drawn from Dr. McMenomy's literature courses.

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