World Literature
This one-term course will explore poetry, short stories, and long fiction from authors around the world. World Literature surveys texts from diverse cultures and time periods, focusing on universal themes, cultural perspectives, and the human experience. Students will examine how literature reflects and shapes society, exploring questions about identity, power, morality, and resilience.
Prerequisites: Junior or Senior Status
½ credit
Course Outline
Unit 1: Origins and Creation
Students will read various texts & work to develop their personal answers to the questions:
Why do humans create stories to explain their beginnings, and how do these stories influence a culture’s identity?
What do creation myths reveal about the values and beliefs of the cultures that created them?
How do creation myths address universal questions about existence, order, and chaos?
Unit 2: Ambition and Power in Macbeth
Students will read various texts & work to develop their personal answers to the questions:
Is ambition inherently good, bad, or neutral, and what determines its moral value?
How can ambition inspire greatness, and how can it lead to downfall?
What is the relationship between power and morality?
How do individuals justify unethical actions in their pursuit of power?
What role does fate play in achieving or limiting one’s ambitions?
Unit 3: Resistance and Identity In the Time of the Butterflies
Students will read various texts & work to develop their personal answers to the questions:
What is the American Dream?
What values does the American Dream reflect?
Is the American Dream more likely to inspire or destroy?
What is more powerful; hope or fear?
Unit 4: Identity and Belonging: Born a Crime
How can humor be a tool for resilience in the face of adversity?
How do societal structures influence individual identity and freedom?
What does Trevor Noah’s story reveal about race, family, and belonging?
Classroom Expectations
All students are to adhere to rules and expectations set by the Pittsville Student Handbook. In addition, students should adhere to the classroom norms they developed as a class and follow the Academic Integrity Policy.
Grading Policy
Assessments (including essays, quizzes, tests, and projects)………………….……….…………………………...…..100%
Note: All other work, while not ‘graded,’ is designed to help students build and practice knowledge and skills that are necessary for the skills being assessed. Assessments will not be administered until other work is completed satisfactorily. If students wish to retake / retry assessments, they must follow the classroom retake policy which will be in the “Important Documents” section of Google Classroom.
Grading Scale
100 – 93 A
92 – 90 A-
89 – 87 B+
86 – 83 B
82 – 80 B-
79 – 77 C+
76 – 73 C
72 – 70 C-
69 – 67 D+
66 – 63 D
62 – 60 D-
Below 60 F
Essential Standerds Covered in Course
RL.1: Cite relevant textual evidence that strongly supports analysis of what the text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences, including determining where the text is ambiguous; develop questions for deeper understanding and for further exploration.
RL.2: Objectively and accurately summarize texts, from a variety of genres, to determine one or more themes or central ideas and analyze its development, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details.
W.2a: Write arguments and literary analysis to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts.