English Department

Through its required courses and electives, the English Department educates Pingry students for competence in using language, facility in reading a variety of kinds of literature, and confidence in speaking. Middle and Upper School students read a variety of literary texts, of increasing complexity, that range in time from Homer's Odyssey to Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars, that focus on Western literature but include works by representatives of other cultures as well.				Laura Gerard Department Chair American Literature, English 9, Magical Realism Brian Burkhart Faculty English 9 Alisha Davlin Faculty English 9, English 10 Ann Meigs Dickerson Faculty Magical Realism, American Literature Susan G. Dineen Faculty American Literature, Creative Writing, English 10 Victoria A. Grant Faculty American Literature, Creative Writing, English 10 Thomas M. Keating Faculty Shakespeare, Ethical Dilemma, American Literature Kimberly Kicenuik ’02 Faculty English 9, European and British Literature, Shakespeare Timothy P. Lear Faculty New Voices Theodore Li Faculty Myth in Literature, World Literature, English 10 Nigel M. Paton Faculty Ethical Dilemma, European and British Literature Christopher M. Shilts Faculty American Literature, English 10, Magical Realism, Greek Drama Dean L. Sluyter Faculty Literature of Enlightenment, American Literature, English 10 Laura Gerard Department Chair Jill Ferland Faculty American Journey, English 7 Evelyn R. Kastl Faculty American Journey Jeff Lisciandrello Faculty English 6 Dennis Pearlstein Faculty English 6 Isabel Roach Faculty English 7 Susanne H. Alford Faculty Grade 5 Language Arts Joan Pearlman Faculty Grade 5 Language Arts
In all courses students write from four to six essays a term, as well as shorter pieces such as journals. Individual conferences with teachers help students appreciate the uniqueness of their own writing even as they seek to achieve accepted standards of accuracy, increased effectiveness of expression, and sophistication of thought and structure. In class students share their reactions to their reading, defending their own points of view while remaining respectful of their classmates' differences in opinion from theirs. Required courses provide a rich variety of classic writers from Sophocles, Chaucer, and Shakespeare to Bronte, Wharton, and Fugard, and electives encourage juniors and seniors to develop their own literary preferences.  Download the Pingry Manual of Style Adobe Acrobat PDF, 592 KB