THE SHIPLEY UPPER SCHOOL REQUIRED SUMMER READING LIST 2011 (GRADES 10-12) Summer reading is required for

all courses in the English and history departments and for the Film Studies course. In the opening weeks of school, students will be asked to reflect on the readings through discussion, tests, and writing assignments. Required summer work for English: The English Department requires that students at each grade level complete the summer reading listed below. Students should purchase their own copies of the books, which will be needed in class for the first week of school. We recommend that students read the books in August, close to the opening of school, so that the material is fresh for discussions and writing assignments which occur in the first days of school. We encourage students to read widely beyond the required books, which are chosen as thought-provoking reading to start the years courses with a provocative and viable context. We urge students to read additional classic and contemporary works over the summer, and teachers and administrators would be happy to make individual suggestions to students. SOPHOMORES: All entering sophomores: The Odyssey: A Dramatic Retelling of Homers Epic by Simon Armitage. In addition to reading the entire retelling by Armitage, honors students must buy the Robert Fitzgerald translation of Homers The Odyssey, and read books 1-12, with the option of finishing the work on their own if they so desire/have interest (all students have the option to read the Homer in the original as well!). Honors students should also jot down any differences they note between the radio play/abridged version and the full epic: what is gained and lost in each version? Goal: To introduce students to the story of Odysseus and to promote reading for both enjoyment and analysis. Focus questions: In what ways is Odysseus similar to other men? What are some of his strengths? What are some of his flaws? What is the relationship between humans and the gods? Students should mark the text to answer these questions and bring their examples and the text to class on the first day of school. Assessment: Discussion, close reading, and a test or an analytical paper.

********************************* JUNIORS: All juniors entering English 11: One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey. Goal: To introduce one theme of the year, the rebel in American society, and to promote reading for both enjoyment and analysis. Focus Questions: What characteristics make the protagonist, Randle McMurphy, a rebel? What characteristics make him heroic? Students should mark the text to answer these questions and bring examples (and the text) to class on the first day of school. Assessment: Discussion, close reading, and a test or an analytical paper using the marked examples. All juniors entering English Honors 11: Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Goal: To introduce several themes of the year--race, justice, and dissent--and to promote reading for both enjoyment and analysis. Focus Questions: Uncle Toms Cabin was a runaway bestseller and a cultural and political phenomenon. Stowes passionate indictment of the peculiar institution of slaverypart sermon, part protest novel, and part melodrama--called on America to purge itself of its original sin, and in the process ignited a terrible civil war that convulsed the nation. Please consider the following questions as you read the novel: What is race? Are its categories absolute or unstable? Who decides? What happens when these categories are contested? What is justice? What happens when contradictory or inconsistent laws cannot be reconciled? What is the role of individual conscience? Assessment: Discussion, close reading, and a test or an analytical paper using the marked examples. All juniors entering American Studies Honors: Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Toms Cabin Glory, a film directed by Edward Zwick

Goals: The American Studies summer reading is designed to provide three distinct ways of looking at the Civil War. These perspectives will help us to begin the process of thinking about the issues in the course through the different lenses of history, literature, popular culture and art to name just a few. Focus Questions: What is history? What is literature? What is memory and how is it created? Is there or should there be a distinction between facts and the truth? Assessment: There will be a brief reading quiz on the first day back. There will be one or two short writings on the books and film. There will be a small Internet research project called a portfolio analysis. ********************************* SENIORS: The senior year opens with a brief experience with college essay writing and editing and continues with the senior seminars. All entering seniors are required to write one college essay addressing one of the Common Application questions as part of their summer work. This essay, typed, 250 to 500 words, is to be handed in on the first day of school. Because the essays will be used in class and in a workshop on revision and editing that will occur shortly after school opens, students should choose a topic that they are comfortable sharing. The Common Application form, including the essay directions, can be found online. Students may wish to read a collection of college essays, such as Boykins Essays That Worked, in order to experience some models of this type of writing; however, this is not required reading. Reading Goal: To enrich and expand the senior seminars, and to promote reading for both enjoyment and analysis. Senior Seminar: Comedy, Tragedy, and Satire All seniors enrolled in Comedy, Tragedy, and Satire should read Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. Focus questions: What defines a comedy, a tragedy, and a satire? (I would like to hear your own thoughts, but you should feel free to do some research as well.) Is Nineteen Eighty-Four a comedy, a tragedy, or a satire? While this work was written over 60 years ago, are any of its concerns still relevant today? Students should mark the text to answer these questions and bring their findings and the novel to class on the first day of school. Assessment: Discussion, close reading, and a test or analytical paper using the marked examples. Senior Seminar: Perspectives on Culture All seniors enrolled in Perspectives on Culture should read A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind.

Focus Questions: What are the values and expectations that define the culture of Brown and the culture of Ballou High School? How does Cedric navigate the differences in his world? Do you think Brown is the right school for him? What does the title of the book mean? Students should mark the text to answer these questions and bring their findings and the text to class on the first day of school. Assessment: Discussion, close reading, and a debate and/or analytical paper using the marked examples. Senior Seminar: Gender All seniors enrolled in Gender should read Self-Made Man: One Womans Year Disguised as a Man by Norah Vincent. Please bring a copy of the book to class on the first day. Focus Question: Try to predict what will happen to Norah Vincent in her year-long odyssey, and then read the book to see if your predictions match the outcome. Assessment: Discussion, close reading, and a test or analytical paper using the marked examples. ************ Required summer reading for History courses: (These are listed alphabetically) America Between the Wars Honors (11th/12th grade elective) Public Enemies: Americas Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI 1933-1934 by Bryan Burrough Goal: Burroughs graceful narrative brings back to life the people and times distorted in the popular imagination by hagiographic FBI files and Hollywood. He is able to chronicle the events that led to the elevation of the Bureau of Investigation to The Federal Bureau of Investigation. His work draws parallels between the bureaus reinvention in the 1930s and todays reform efforts to combat the war on terror. Students will be able to make connections between past and present and gain an understanding how the Depression contributed to Americas Greatest Crime Wave. Focus Questions 1. What did The Depression Era Outlaws share in common? 2. How Did J. Edgar Hoover use the Crime Wave to save his career and create the FBI? 3. How did Depression Era Outlaws use technology to stay ahead of law enforcement? 4. Could a crime wave like the one Burrough writes about happen again in American history? Assessment: Book Review in the first few weeks of school
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********************************* Global Studies Honors (11th/12th grade elective) The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, by Thomas Friedman Goal: Read the first portion to introduce the topic of globalization and some of the viewpoints and issues surrounding this loaded concept. Please read chapters one through four under the primary heading How the World Became Flat and chapter five (American and Free Trade) under the primary heading of America and the Flat World. In the updated version of the book, these chapters run through page 275 but since Friedman has a few versions circulating, the exact page numbers and chapters may be slightly different depending on the edition you purchase. You are welcome to finish the book if you wish. Focus Questions: What is Friedmans perspective on globalization? Are there clear winners and losers in his analysis? How does Americas view of globalization differ from that of the other countries that Friedman discusses? Are there other sides to the vignettes that Friedman presents to illustrate his perspective on globalization? What is being left unsaid and unanalyzed? Can you think of examples of the 10 Flatteners that you or your family has encountered? Note any questions you have about the 10 Flatteners. Assessment: Upon returning in the fall, you will be engaged in an experiential analysis of Friedmans flatteners including primary and secondary research. You will take a position on whether or not Friedmans contentions are valid in todays world. Read carefully over the summer because you will be building on your summer reading during the entire first quarter of the course. You will receive the specific assignment after the start of classes. Optional: Keep your eye on news stories that you think reflect the globalizing world. As you browse movies on those rainy days, consider picking one of the following to add some deeper insights to our discussions next year: Blood Diamond, Children of Men, Black Hawk Down, Persepolis, Syriana, The Kingdom, Food Inc., Michael Clayton, Fair Game, Munich, Dune, The Social Network, The Gods Must be Crazy, Hotel Rwanda, District 9 and Slumdog Millionaire. As you watch these movies, think about the frontiers between cultures/civilizations and how you might receive the content of the movie differently if you were not an American. Email me if you have questions about the movies or other movie suggestions over the summer: cweigel@shipleyschool.org . ********************************** Macro Economics Honors and Standard (11th/12th grade elective) The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell

Goal: Consider how seemingly small political, social, policy, regulatory and economic actions can be just enough to tip over into a massive change, positive or negative. Think about the butterfly theory - the concept that the single flap of a butterflys wings in, say, a South American jungle can create a chain of events that may eventually produce a typhoon on the coast of Malaysia. Focus Questions: What factors contribute to creating or influencing a tipping point? Think about a trend you have witnessed in the past few years (perhaps a fashion trend, a food trend, a run on a particular electronic item) and identify the key factors that tipped that item or style into a mass trend. If the trend has subsided, identify the key factors that tipped the trend into reverse. Challenge one argument that Gladwell makes in this book about cause and effect, explaining why you dont buy his premise or example, or how he could have strengthened his point. Assessment: Standard: You will be assigned a project or paper in the first weeks of school. Honors: Upon returning to school, you will be engaged in a critical analysis of an industry to judge whether or not it has experienced a tipping point. Read carefully over the summer because you will be building on your understanding of Gladwells contentions throughout the first quarter of this course. You will receive the specific assignment after the start of classes. Optional: Keep your eye on news stories that reflect the economic opportunities and challenges facing America and the rest of the world. As you browse movies on those rainy days, consider picking one of the following to add some deeper insights to our discussions next year: Wall Street, Boiler Room, A Bugs Life, Glengarry Glen Ross, Do the Right Thing, The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, Trading Places, Silkwood, Traffic, Michael Clayton, Inside Job, The Social Network, Spirited Away and There Will Be Blood. As you watch these movies, think about access to resources, transparency of information, struggles within and between economic classes, free markets, role of government and other economic factors that affect the outcomes in these movies. Email me if you have questions about the movies or other movie suggestions over the summer: cweigel@shipleyschool.org . ******************************* Modern Middle East Honors (11th/12th grade elective) The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday by Neil MacFarquhar Goal: Neil MacFarquhars father worked for Esso Oil, and for most of his childhood he lived in Libya (in what was known as the Texas of the Mediterranean). As an adult, he spent more than thirteen years covering the Middle East and North Africa for The New York Times. While there is much here that concerns the political and economic realities of the region, this book looks beyond the headlines to illuminate how the Arab world

and Iran are adjusting to the pressures of modernity and change, where chefs, bloggers and dissidents struggle to reform the region on their own terms. It is hoped that this book will give the reader a fresh perspective on the Middle East, and will help dispel the stereotype of it as a region immersed in perpetual and mindless violence. Focus questions: 1. The author writes, it is a mistake to view the darker aspects of life in the Middle East as the entire spectrum and write off the rest. To what extent do his profiles challenge or conform to your preconceived notions of the Middle East? 2. What are some of the internal contradictions and differences of opinion within the Arab/Muslim world that this book explores? 3. What does the author have to say about the important concepts of fatwa and jihad? Did anything he said surprise you? 4. Bear in mind that this book was largely written before the election of Barak Obama and certainly before the events of early 2011 in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. To what extent do you think his assessments are still accurate, and to what extent do they no longer apply? 5. The author writes that 2005 was perhaps a high point of American support for reform and change [in the Middle East], and it has been downhill ever since. What does the author think were the limitations of US policy in the Middle East, and why? 6. Based on the authors assessment, what do you think are the chances for change in the Middle East? Is he optimistic or pessimistic? Assessment: A paper or class presentation will be assigned in the first weeks of school in response to the focus questions. ********************************* Modern European History Honors (10th grade elective) A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, and the movie A Tale of Two Cities (any version) Goal: To acquaint the reader with a masterpiece of English literature and to inform him or her of the social background, plotting and complexity of the French Revolution. Focus Questions: A Tale of Two Cities is a narrative drenched in blooda harrowing story of public and private acts of savage cruelty, reprisal, and revenge. What were the tensions among the social classes in eighteenth-century France? Was the fury of the common people of France towards the aristocracy justified? What does Dickens have to say about the use of violence to restore the social and political order? Was the Revolution inevitable? Assessment: An essay will be assigned in the first weeks of school, addressing the themes of the focus questions.

********************************* US History and US History Honors (11th grade) Book: Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels and the movie: Glory, a film directed by Edward Zwick Goal: The Killer Angels - This book is a superb 1975 Pulitzer prize-winning recreation of the Battle of Gettysburg, giving real insight into the very nature of war. It is hoped that the book will make history come alive for the readers by showing historical characters as living, breathing human beings, and by making immediate the divisive issues of the day. Glory is a wonderful companion piece to The Killer Angels to help you begin to explore American archetypes. Focus Questions: The Killer Angels 1. What were the goals and aspirations of each side? 2. To what level was slavery a major issue? 3. What was at stake for both sides? For America? 4. What was the character and style of each army, both before and after the battle? 5. Why is this battle seen as a major turning point in the Civil War? Glory 6. How are Chamberlain and Longstreet (from The Killer Angels) and Shaw and Trip from this film examples of Americans? 7. How do Chamberlain, Longstreet, Lee, Shaw and Trip represent the past and change? Dissent? The choices that arise in rebellions? Assessment: There will be an essay assigned in the first few weeks of school that addresses the themes mentioned in the above focus section. ********************************* US History 1945-Present (11th/12th grade elective) The Fifties, by David Halberstam Goal: In retrospect writes David Halberstam the pace of the fifties seemed slower, almost languid. Social ferment, however, was beginning just beneath this placid surface. He shows how the United States began to emerge from the long shadow of FDR's 12-year presidency, with the military-industrial complex and the Beat movement simultaneously growing strong. Television brought not only situation comedies but controversial congressional hearings into millions of living rooms. While Alfred Kinsey was studying people's sex lives, Gregory Pincus and other researchers began work on a pill that would forever alter the course of American reproductive practices. Sit back and enjoy this well written survey of a quintessential American era.

Required reading: Chapters 1 and 2 Introduction to the Era Chapters 8 and 9 Resurgence of Ford and GM, and the development of a suburban culture. Chapters 10, 11 and 12 Rise of American retail, McDonald's, Holiday Inn Chapters 14 and 15 The Growth of Television Chapter 19 A Streetcar Named Desire Chapter 20 The Kinsey Report Chapter 22 The Beats Chapter 31 Elvis Presley Chapters 33 and 34 Consumerism and the rise of the All-American family Focus Questions: 1.What were the divisions in the Republican Party after World War Two? 2. How did Truman with Oppenheimer's technology, plan to counteract a Soviet threat? 3.Why was GM seen as the symbol of American industrial power? How did GM and the union form an alliance? How did GM set out to modernize its line of automobiles? 4. How did Bill Levitt change the landscape of American suburbia? 5. What was the secret to the success of Korvettes? 6. How did McDonalds transform the American restaurant industry? 7. How did television eclipse radio as a popular media in America? What shows were popular in the early days of TV and why? 8. In A Streetcar Named Desire how did Tennessee Williams make the unsayable sayable and violate convention? 9. Why did Alfred Kinsey come under intense criticism for his report on Sexual Behavior in the Human Male? 10. What were the Beats rebelling against? What did they revere and how were they outside the system? How did On the Road offer a new vision of American life? 11. What did Elvis Presley synthesize to form a new powerful form of music which would appeal to young Americans? 12. How did television depict the typical American family in the fifties? Assessment: There will be an essay assigned in the first few weeks of school that addresses the themes mentioned in the above focus section. ********************************* World History II (10th Grade) The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli Goal: Since its publication in 1513, Niccolo Machiavellis little book on the art of power has had a very large influence on Western politics. The Prince has been banned by the Catholic Church, reviled as a how-to guide for sociopaths, and celebrated as a landmark of modern philosophy; the questions it raised are still debated today. Written as a political handbook for rulers at the height of the Renaissance, the books emphasis on secular

politics and his avoidance of Christian morality quickly earned its author the enmity of the Catholic Church for centuries, the word Machiavellian was synonymous with evil and deceit. But Machiavelli was born in a tumultuous era, where political-military alliances continually shifted, and his Italy was a dangerous place: popes waged war; wealthy city-states struggled with each other endlessly, their mercenaries liable to switch sides without warning; and mighty powers like France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire threatened to invade. In a world like this, Machiavelli taught, political power is a contest without limits, where the only value is success and the only sin is failure, and where results are all that matters where the end justifies the means. Machiavellis The Prince is disturbing, inspiring, and one of the most controversial books in history. Focus Questions 1. Why does Machiavelli support his arguments by citing examples of real historical and contemporary rulers? 2. Is he interested in what makes a good human being, or what makes a good prince? How are these different? 3. Does Machiavelli recognize any constraints on a princes freedom to act? 4. To Machiavelli, what ethical considerations have a role to play in the conduct of a prince? 5. According to Machiavelli, do moral ends justify immoral means? 6. Why does Machiavelli say it is better to be feared than to be loved? Assessment: Respond to focus questions within the first two weeks of school.

******************************** Required work for Interdisciplinary course: Film Studies Film Studies: Film to watch: The Matrix (Director: Wachowski, 1999). Book to read: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Both of these works look at the effects of technology in their time periods. Consider the following focus questions: 1. What questions is each work asking about technology? 2. To what extent are the questions the same? 3. Are they afraid of it for the same reasons? 4. How is the fear generated? 5. What warnings do these works offer? 6. What considerations do you give to the time periods of which these works were developed? 7. What are the effects of the various medium?

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