English electives

Juniors at Gunn take one semester of the required English class: American Literature/American Classics H or World Literature/World Classics H depending on year. For the other semester, they choose between one of the English electives. Seniors have this same choice, but also may take the year-long AP Literature instead.

List of electives

This is a list of the possible English electives and their 2025-2026 course catalog descriptions.

Analytic College Writing

This course focuses on preparation for college and beyond. Instruction centers on the skills of critical thinking, comprehending informational texts, vocabulary development, effective timed writing, and grammar in order to prepare students for success in college, from the application process through degree attainment. Fiction and informational texts are studied and analyzed in preparation for discussion and seminars. Students write daily to practice personal narrative essays. In addition to reading, vocabulary, writing, and grammar, this course also works on the composition of the college essay, research skills, and interview skills.

The Works of Shakespeare

Afraid of being called a “beetle-headed, flap-ear’d knave“? Learn the language to fight back. This course introduces the students to the range of Shakespeare's plays, including comedies, tragedies and histories, and his sonnets. The course will also introduce students to Shakespeare’s language and times. Students need not be experts in Shakespearean plays to enroll in the course. Experts and novices alike are welcome.

Escape Literature

This course explores three of the most popular forms of modern fiction—mystery, science fiction, and horror. From the clever antics of Sherlock Holmes to the dark crevices of Dr. Frankenstein’s lab, students will get a taste for the groundbreaking works of each form, as well as offerings from modern day writers. We will do both expository and creative writing and a variety of individual and group projects related to the stories and books we read.

Classic Mythology

(Main page: Classic Mythology)

The mythology and literature of ancient Greece and Rome is the focus of this multidisciplinary elective for juniors and seniors. The course will touch on the essentials—the gods of Mt. Olympus, the heroes who carried out amazing feats, and the many stories of tragedy, love, humor and adventure. Students will read both ancient and modern versions of the myths and demonstrate their knowledge through a mix of writing, visual arts, performance, and research-based activities.

Shakespeare in Performance (alternate years)

This interdisciplinary course for juniors and seniors offers students five units of English and five units of Drama credit. Students will enrich their study of a variety of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets as literary texts with hands-on experiences involving every facet of creating the "living" play. Students need not have extensive acting experience. Offered in alternate years.

Part of the theater program — students must be concurrently enrolled in Theater 3 or Theater 4H, and vice versa.

Dramatic Literature in Performance (alternate years)

This interdisciplinary course for juniors and seniors offers students five units of English and five units of Drama credit. Students will enrich their study of a variety of literary texts with hands-on experiences involving every facet of creating the "living" play. Students need not have extensive acting experience. Offered in alternate years.

Part of the theater program — students must be concurrently enrolled in Theater 3 or Theater 4H, and vice versa.

Composition & Literature of Visual Media (Film Lit)

This course relates composition in the motion picture to student reading and writing. It introduces the art and technique of film through a history of the film and a study of its genre and directors. Activities help the student explore film as art and as composition.

Philosophy through Literature

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought” – John F. Kennedy

Over the course of the semester, we will explore nearly three thousand years of humanity’s most pressing questions: What is real? Do we have free will? What is the meaning of life? Can we create a just society? In this case we will use a wide range of literature and primary sources ranging from Plato’s Allegory of the Cave to Descartes’ Meditations to Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha. Students will discuss, debate, and write their own philosophies on life and the world around them.

Reading Between the Lines

This course is designed for the college-bound student who wants to strengthen reading, writing and critical thinking skills in preparation for university-level demands. Since the course was designed to mesh with The Expository Reading and Writing Course, the majority of our reading will be non-fiction texts drawn from a variety of disciplines. We also explore contemporary plays about global issues, make space for free reading assignments, and include a creative writing unit in which students convey their learning across the disciplines through narrative. We do most of our reading outside of class, with a focus on developing strategies to help students understand even the most difficult content and text structures. During class meetings we have lively discussions, play-reading time, and instruction in argumentative writing. By the end of the course, students will read more widely, more skillfully, and with more enjoyment than before.

Expository Reading and Writing

Designed by CSU, the grade 12 Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) is a yearlong course employing a rhetorical, inquiry-based approach that fosters critical thinking, student agency, and metacognition. The course includes five to six full-length modules drawn from three categories: 1) Shakespeare drama; 2) full- length books; and 3) contemporary issues (three to four modules). In addition, the course includes two short portfolio modules and at least three mini-modules that address transferable skills applicable to conceptual development and practice across all modules, e.g., genre awareness, goal setting and self-assessment, rhetorical situation, Aristotelian appeals. The core structure of all the modules – the assignment Template – progresses along an “arc” from reading rhetorically (preparing to read, reading purposefully, and questioning the text) to preparing to respond (discovering what you think) to writing rhetorically (composing a draft, revising rhetorically, and editing).

There is a dual enrollment option for this course.

Literature of Sports

A college preparatory course, the Literature of Sport will help students analyze, investigate and study, from a literary perspective, the unique phenomenon of participatory and competitive sport in America. Specific attention will be paid to the parallels that exist between professional and amateur sports, as well as their accompanying sociological changes. Students will study all portions of the literary spectrum (novel, non-fiction, essay, short story, poem, and film) to explore a wide panorama of opinions, themes, observations, and social commentary related to sport. While developing analytical and writing skills, students will formulate ideas on this distinct genre through numerous compatible assignments. A final project requiring research is required. 2-3 pages per writing assignment. Emphasis: Contemporary sports writing and research, as well as sports journalism.

The Art of Visual Storytelling

This course introduces students to a unique literary medium: comics! After mastering the basic terms for visual storytelling composition, students will dive into contemporary works and analyze how the combination of art and words impact character development and the structure of the text. We will examine how the comic format can be utilized for sensitive subject matter such as Holocaust survivor narratives. Students will explore the development of superhero stories and discover the impact of other literary genres on superhero texts. Finally, we will delve into manga in order to compare and contrast Eastern and Western styles.

Asian American Literature

Through various forms of literature, this class aims to examine multiple themes and questions, ranging from the push and pull factors of immigration from Asia over the decades; generational differences and similarities and being “the constant immigrant”; how US imperialism has affected Asian American identity; where Asians fall in the Black-White binary of race in America; and what it means to be Asian, Asian American, and/or AAPI today.

Women Writers

This one-semester course is open to juniors and seniors. We will look at the history of women as it plays out in both historical and literary contexts. Students will understand what led to the women’s movement, and study current female perspectives via nonfiction and fiction. A goal of this course is to present women’s literature as an important component of our culture and as a unique subject of study.

Analysis of the Writer's Craft (Creative Writing)

In this creative-writing course, students will have the opportunity to write memoir, short fiction, and poetry, as well as to experiment with innovative forms. We will focus on developing a strong, authentic voice, developing scenes, and understanding effective structure. Students will write daily and will regularly share their work with other students. The course is recommended only for those who understand that the best writing comes from both creativity and discipline.