High School Literature Courses

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Student Expectations

Live Literature Classes:

• Attend a one-hour, weekly, live course session

• Complete each week’s assigned reading

• Take a short, online comprehension quiz each week

• Answer a weekly, online discussion question

• Submit two literary analysis papers and one creative project

Self-Paced Classes:

• All recordings will be available from September - May.

Lit 1: The Ancient World

Western Civilization begins in Greece, and a few centuries later, the Romans pick up where the Greeks leave off. Our survey of the Great Books of Western Civilization therefore begins with the ancient but powerful epics of Homer. We sample some of the favorite works of ancient Athenians--the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. We even dabble a bit in the philosophy of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. We finish up with a biographical sketch by Plutarch and the great Roman epic, The Aeneid. To keep things interesting, we insert two works from other eras: C.S. Lewis's retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, Till We Have Faces, and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Edith Hamilton's guide through the myths helps us throughout the course. 

Please see the course calendar for meeting time. All class sessions will be recorded.