English at saint Thomas academy.

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of American Literature & Composition, Honors Critical Reading and Writing, or Honors American Studies: English.
Missing persons, institutional corruption, that one last big score. These are the realms of the detectives, criminals, and private eyes who navigate both sides of the law. Having long fascinated popular culture, the crime novel is uniquely positioned to address many significant problems and issues of contemporary society while still offering crackerjack mysteries and sizzling drama. From the earliest examples of Poe and Conan Doyle, through the hard-boiled stylings of Hammett and Chandler, to contemporary writers like George Pelecanos and Vince Flynn, crime fiction perfectly marries exciting narratives, indelible characters, psychological struggles, and social commentary.

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of American Literature & Composition, Honors Critical Reading and Writing, or Honors American Studies: English.
From their inception to Inception, films have captivated audiences for over a century, creating a multi-medium art form that combines narrative, staged performance, and cinematic imagery into a dynamic visual text open to multiple critical readings. With an emphasis on critical reading, this course pairs the critical study of novels, novellas, and short stories such as Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” with their cinematic adaptations, exploring that complex textual relationship through seminar discussions, oral presentations, and analytical essay compositions. Beyond this exploration, students learn film theory, visual analysis, essential film vocabulary, cinematography, videography, and film editing, applying this knowledge to the development of adapted screenplays and to the production of their own short films. By the end of this course, students will have not only read and viewed classic literature and landmark films but will also have cultivated their own talents as story creators and film critics.

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of American Literature & Composition, Honors Critical Reading and Writing,
or Honors American Studies: English.
A hero leaves the common world into one of unexplored supernatural wonder, encounters various opposing forces, bests them in a decisive, personal victory, and returns home triumphant. This is the traditional hero’s journey, what Joseph Campbell called the monomyth, and from Tolkien to George Lucas, Homer to Han Solo, it offers a unique window into our modern understanding of heroism, villainy, leadership, and even the concept of story itself. This course will explore Campbell’s traditional hero’s journey, applying it to novels, short stories, poems, and films, opening new avenues of appreciation and understanding. Course will cover material from Ancient Greek myths, to classic novels, to films, allowing students to see heroic patterns in stories and in their own lives.

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of American Literature & Composition, Honors Critical Reading and Writing,
or Honors American Studies: English.
Imagine a great ballroom where rocket pilots, child-generals, aliens, and hobbits waltz together across the dance floor. In the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre, these implausible pairings in unlikely places are routinely the clay for fascinating stories set in imaginary worlds. And while traditional critics of this genre may look at this unusual and unlikely story-telling material and call it unrealistic, in this course, we will explore the galactic and the fantastic in the words and spirit of the great Sci-Fi/Fantasy writer, Ursula K. Le Guin, who referred to her colleagues as “realists of the greater reality.” Incorporating a variety of short stories and novels, we will explore the “greater real” and investigate the timeless device of exploring our own world and experience through the lens of a “galaxy far, far away.”

Prerequisite(s): Instructor approval.
The class is conducted as a writer’s workshop wherein students share their writings and work towards a polished portfolio of their best work. Students actively write for the purposes of creating finished works, including but not limited to poetry, short stories, essays, memoirs, and drama. Students study models of good writing and varied literary selections.

Prerequisite(s): Instructor approval.
This class teaches the elements of journalistic writing in the digital age. It will focus on building newsworthy stories, writing to an audience, and mastering the fundamentals of reporting and blogging. Students who take this class will work on the Citation, the school blog. The class will present the different sections of the newspaper, such as reporting, editorials, sports.

Prerequisite(s): Instructor approval.
Students in this class will explore contemporary geo-political conflicts through the study of fiction, non-fiction, and documentary. Beyond the readings, debates, and investigation of a variety of important global events – India vs. Pakistan, China’s emergence as a rising superpower, the problem of rogue regimes, Russia’s economic and political war against the West etc. – students will prepare for and lead lively debates, collaborate in simulated think-tanks, study diplomatic policy, role-play in simulated diplomatic conflicts, and develop research-based problems and solutions to some of the planet's most pressing issues. This class will serve as the ideal academic companion piece to students interested in Model UN and foreign affairs.

Prerequisite(s): Instructor approval.
From the foundational musings of Thoreau and Emerson to the real-life adventures of Ernest Shackleton and Alexander Supertramp, this course dives headfirst into stories of adventure, courage, and survival in the face of the natural world. Learning will begin in the classroom and extend into the natural world as students will not simply read about the wonders of the wilderness but experience it themselves through outdoor activity-based learning.

Prerequisite(s): Instructor approval.
Students in this class will be introduced to the art of script writing. They will study significant modern and historical scripts and performances to inspire their own work. Working both individually and in groups, students will brainstorm, outline, and create their own scripts designed for the stage or screen.

Prerequisite(s): Instructor approval.
This class will present great American novels from the twentieth and twenty-first century, reflecting the diversity of American voices.

Prerequisite(s): Instructor approval.
This elective course will explore literature written by Minnesota writers. Students will read classic and contemporary works of poetry, novels, short stories, and non-fiction from authors such as Sinclair Lewis, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Louise Erdrich, Kao Kalia Yang, and Marlon James. A focus on Minnesota history will allow students to understand the backdrop and context of the great “homegrown” literature that has emerged from the land of 10,000 lakes!