English:
Journalism 1: Foundations – Half year
Journalism 1 is the foundation of the media sequence in the English department. This unit will be the introduction to the skills, ethics and knowledge students will need to carry them through the rest of the sequence (Journalism 2 and Broadcast Journalism). Students will write JD’s student newspaper, RamPage. Students will investigate the following questions: What is the purpose of news? What is the difference between news and opinion? Why is it important to be critical consumers of news? This class helps reinforce the skills of the writers. As this is an English Department elective, one that is open to Freshmen, it mainly benefits students as an opportunity to work on their writing through vigorous and robust practical practice.
Journalism 2: 21st Century Publication – Half year
Prerequisite: Journalism 1
Students in the Journalism 2 elective course develop essential skills for media publishing. Focused units on graphic design, layout, web development, photography, and videography employ industry-standard technology to prepare students for publishing opportunities with the RamPage school newspaper, the RamFeed news broadcast, Rambunctious literary magazine, the Hilltop Echoes yearbook, and other publications both in and out of school. Students will create stories for both RamPage and Ramfeed.
Advanced Journalism – Half year
Requirement: Sophomore, Junior, or Senior standing
Prerequisite: Jounalism 1 & 2 OR RamPage/Rambunctious advisor permission
This is an English elective course for Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors who have successfully completed both introductory journalism courses and wish to pursue the discipline beyond its basics. This is also available to experiential editors and staff members of RamPage and Rambunctious with advisor permission. Students work independently and in small groups to explore advanced topics in writing, publishing, technology, media, marketing, and management in support of school and independent publications. Assessment is portfolio-based.
Broadcast Journalism – Full year
Requirement: Sophomore, Junior, or Senior standing
This is an English elective course for students interested in the field of broadcast media, and who have completed one year of high school. We will be exploring the different genres associated with television, broadcast journalism, and film throughout the course of the year. During this course students will be responsible for creating and posting video news and features for the RamFeed. Also, throughout this course we will study other issues related to media, such as persuasion, perspective, power, etc. Broadcast Journalism will develop public speaking skills, a personal brand and an awareness of how to navigate the realm of social media.
Public Speaking – Half year
The primary goal of this course is to develop the oral communication skills needed in almost any career or school situation. Students will learn to prepare, organize, and present speeches for both formal and informal situations. In addition, they will learn to develop critical listening skills.
Creative Writing – Half year
Many students miss having time to write. Between their studies, extracurricular activities, work and other obligations, there just seems to be no time. Creative Writing class gives students back that time. This course allows students to improve their creative writing skills through consistent, monitored practice, peer response and teacher conferences. The majority of each class is devoted to focus on individual writing. While a number of short lessons in various genres, forms, and techniques are offered, each student negotiates his or her own writing objectives with the teacher.
Advanced Creative Writing – Half year
Prerequisite: 1 semester of Creative Writing
Students who have completed a semester of Creative Writing are eligible to enroll in Advanced Creative Writing. While advancing and refining their own writing craft, students will also open their work to thoughtful, helpful, and constructive critiques within the class. Reading as a key component of writing practice is also emphasized as students will keep a writer’s reading log, looking closely at the style and craft of writers they admire.
Reading Films 1 – Half year
Requirement: Parental permission is required for this course as “R”-rated films are included in the viewing list.
This course is a genre-based approach to studying film as the primary text. The focus is on identifying the conventions of each genre (Gangster, Horror, Drama, Animated, War, etc.) and analyzing cinematic techniques and the meaning they create. Class time is primarily spent on screening films and seminar-style class discussions.
Reading Films 2 – Half year
Requirement: Parental permission is required for this course as “R”-rated films are included in the viewing list.
Prerequisite: Reading Films 1
This course examines the filmography of influential film directors, such as Hitchcock, Scorsese, Eastwood, Lee, Bigelow, and others. Utilizing an understanding of basic cinematic techniques learned in Reading Films 1, students analyze how the director employs them to create meaning and develop her personal creative vision. The signature style of each director is identified and analyzed to appreciate how she might qualify as the “author” of her own artwork under auteur theory. Class time is primarily spent on screening films and seminar-style class discussions.
Advanced Reading Films – Half year
Requirement: Parental permission is required for this course as “R”-rated films are included in the viewing list.
Prerequisite: Reading Films 1 & 2
Building on genre, auteur, and cinematic concepts from Reading Films I & II, films are analyzed through various critical lenses, including archetypal, feminist, Marxist, historical, and psychoanalytical theory, to peel back the layers of meaning in a rich film text. Class time is primarily spent on screening films and seminar-style class discussions.
Pop Culture Text and Psychology – Half year
This course applies the work of Freud, Lacan, Klein, Jung, Adler, Ainsworth, and other influential scholars of psychology to popular cultural stories (print, TV, film, comics, graphic novels, etc.). Topics may include, but not be limited to, dreams, the conscious and subconscious minds, the ID, ego, and superego, defense mechanisms, the collective unconscious, memory, behaviors, psychological complexes and disorders, PTSD and identity construction. These concepts will be applied to the conflicts, characters, and composers of pop culture stories, such as Harry Potter, Batman, The Big Bang Theory, Dexter, and beyond.
Corporate Communications – Half year
Requirement: Junior or senior standing
Explore various aspects of the business world, including leadership and management styles, in this half-credit elective by analyzing corporations and their culture with written formats such as memos, business plans, and proposals. Both individual projects and team projects allow you to practice the types of reading, writing, and speaking that will someday help you get a job, no matter what field you are interested in entering. The course includes project-based learning, life skills, and real-world applications with assignments including resumes, cover letters, and mock-interviews.