We strive to help students express themselves with clarity and power orally as well as in writing. We want them to be able to generate authentic, nuanced questions and original ideas. Reading literature with sensitivity and exploring varied cultural perspectives are also critical. Classes are taught seminar-style. Lecture is rare. Class participation is essential as students try out their ideas aloud.
Students at Putney are Expressive
Students write frequently. Readings range from the canonic to the contemporary and roam over a wide landscape of cultures and voices both in original English and in translation. Most genres are represented, including novels, short stories, essays, poetry, plays, graphic novels, and film.
Creative Writing
Open to Grades 11, 12
How do writers discover and refine their voices through sustained practice, experimentation across genres, and revision? Creative Writing investigates how writers develop their voices, advance their craft, and shape meaning through sustained practice, experimentation across genres, and revision. Students engage deeply with poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction—using close readings of exemplary works as craft models and examining authorial choices related to voice, structure, imagery, and narrative perspective. Creative Writing emphasizes creative risk-taking, craft awareness, and revision as an iterative, reflective process. Students write daily, produce original work across genres, and participate in peer workshops, writing critiques, craft exercises, and multiple rounds of revision. Coursework centers on sharing works in progress and engaging in collaborative discussions grounded in constructive feedback in an anti-racist workshop format. Rather than relying on a single textbook, students work with a curated selection of literary texts alongside their own writing, culminating in a polished writing portfolio that reflects growth, revision, and artistic intentional. (One Term)
Dramatic Literature
Open to Grades 10, 11, 12
How do we analyze and construct meaning from plays? The curriculum in Dramatic Literature focuses on 21st century drama and introduces students to a wide variety of playwrights and dramatic styles, challenging students' understanding of race, gender, and sexuality through personal engagement with plays primarily written by Black, Indigenous, Asian American, queer, and female playwrights. Each week students read a new play, independently or aloud in class; discuss its themes and cultural importance; study the characters; consider possible stage directions; and analyze the scenes. Short writing assignments focus on character analysis, close-reading, and self-reflection, culminating in a long-form essay that examines multiple plays in conversation with each other. For many students, this course is a starting point for appreciating theater and learning to read plays. For those who have previously engaged with the theater program, it is an English course that connects to their passion and prepares them for theater courses offered at college or university. (One Term)
Existentialism
Open to Grades 11, 12
What does it mean to exist freely and responsibly in an uncertain world? Existentialism explores questions of meaning, freedom, responsibility, and self-creation through close reading, discussion, writing, and creative work. The course examines how modern thinkers and artists confront despair, alienation, and choice while insisting on human agency and ethical responsibility. Students engage with philosophical essays, short fiction, plays, and films by figures such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, and Franz Kafka, alongside related artistic and cinematic works. Through analytical writing, seminar-style discussion, and personal creative projects, students investigate how existential thought challenges individuals to confront the conditions of existence and to consider what it means to make oneself in a world without predetermined meaning. (One Term)
Introduction to Media Studies
Open to Grades 11, 12
How does media influence society and culture? How does media reflect our identities, values, and the norms of our time? How can we develop media literacy and critical thinking to help us navigate the world and the media we experience in our daily lives? In Introduction to Media Studies, students explore and practice how to read, use, and produce media in a variety of categories through hands-on project work and daily class discussion. Topics include advertising and marketing, social media and the internet, journalism, and film, though students are frequently encouraged to pursue their own interests. Each unit will conclude with a project that incorporates students' individual interests and the topics and tools covered, and a short presentation to review and discuss student work. (One Term)
Philosophy for Social Change
Open to Grades 11, 12
How do dominant ideologies shape society? How can those ideologies be challenged and reimagined? Philosophy for Social Change investigates the role of ideology in structuring social, economic, and political life through critical reading, discussion, research, and writing. The course focuses on three influential systems—Capitalism, Patriarchy, and White Supremacy—examining their historical origins, underlying assumptions, and institutional effects. Students study critiques of these ideologies by thinkers whose voices have been marginalized by them, drawing from philosophy, critical theory, and social analysis. The course concludes by considering emerging frameworks and alternative paradigms for justice, equity, and collective transformation, encouraging students to connect philosophical inquiry to contemporary movements for social change. (One Term)
Say What You Mean
Open to Grades 11, 12
Why are some concepts and experiences so difficult to articulate? Why do unspoken thoughts often seem richer, smarter, or more complex? Why is it hard to form persuasive arguments in conversations when the ideas are clear in our minds? Say What You Mean focuses on refining students’ rhetorical skills to bridge the gap between word and thought. Scientist, artist, mathematician, political activist, musician—writing well allows the individual to share their insights and experiences with the world. Students practice harnessing their own creative process and use specific critical lenses to shape and polish their communication skills. By reading a diverse variety of texts and exploring multiple writing techniques, this course pursues a simple goal: clarity in writing and speaking. (One Term)
Shakespeare
Open to Grades 11, 12
Why are Shakespeare’s plays continually performed throughout the world? What can his works teach us about the world today? About our own lives? About the human condition? This course offers an in-depth study of the drama and poetry of William Shakespeare with an emphasis on understanding the texts through readings, small-group assignments, written work, and scene performances. The course is designed to improve every student's capacity to read deeply and interrogate texts for possible interpretations. Students will study two plays and several sonnets by building up from the foundation the words offer, to syntax, to character development to scenes, and finally to the structure and meaning of the full text. From political thrillers and piercing revenge tales to moving stories of mercy and forgiveness student will learn to open the language and argue about its meaning. Beyond the language, students will discuss the relevance of Shakespeare’s stories to our modern world. No previous experience with Shakespeare or acting is required. (One Term)
Course not offered in 2026-27
World Literature
Open to Grades 11, 12
How do stories across cultures and historical moments shape our understanding of what it means to be human? This course examines major literary works from around the globe, spanning cultures, historical periods, and genres—from Gilgamesh to Kendrick Lamar. Students read and analyze classic and contemporary texts while exploring the cultural, historical, and social contexts that informed them. The curriculum encourages lively discussions about universal human experiences as portrayed in literature while fostering the ability to compare and contrast themes, styles, and techniques across cultures and time with emphasis placed on close reading, comparison, and discussion of universal human concerns such as identity, power, belief, and resistance, while also attending to the specific traditions from which individual texts emerged. Assignments include analytical essays, creative responses, and literacy mapping that challenge students to interpret complex texts thoughtfully. By the end of the course, students will have gained a broader understanding of world cultures through their literature, enhanced their appreciation for diverse storytelling traditions, improved their analytical writing skills, and developed a more nuanced appreciation for humanity’s enduring use of story as a means of expression and inquiry. (One Term)
Writing About Literature
Required - Grade 10
What is the relationship between reading well and writing effective analyses? How do we use writing as an investigative and generative process? Writing About Literature guides students as they develop essential writing practices, explore the role of the reader in writing processes and products, and learn to use each other as resources. Progress is assessed through in-class dialogues, frequent journal entries, and several analytical writing assignments. As students develop their own voices, they learn to be deliberate, persuasive, and creative in their reading and writing practices. Texts include poems, short stories, literary essays, and the novel Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. (One Term)
Writing for Theater & Film
Open to Grades 11, 12
What makes playwriting distinct from other forms of creative writing? How do we express our ideas through script-writing? Writing for Theater & Film explores the arc of playwriting by building characters and understanding conflict. By reading and writing dialogue, students develop a greater understanding of how to write a play or screenplay with diverse forms and themes. Weekly writing exercises encourage students to explore the range and complexities of writing for theater and film, while a collaborative group project delves into the unique experience of writing for television. Writing assignments involve a variety of prompts to promote experimentation with style, and students’ written works are read aloud with a focus on constructive critique. (One Term)
Writing Narrative Nonfiction
Required - Grade 10
How do we tell true stories responsibly in an age of algorithms, attention economies, and competing versions of “truth”? Narrative nonfiction is often described as true stories, well told—but whose truth is being told, and how does it differ from “the truth”? This course explores how writers seek out, shape, and express truth honestly and accurately, while grappling with the ethical, cultural, and stylistic choices that shape narrative. Students consider how narrative nonfiction differs from visual and social media storytelling, and what depth, accountability, and reflection nonfiction writing uniquely enables. Writing is approached as a process of thinking on the page. Students complete three major projects—a memoir, a portrait/testimonial, a podcast-vlog, and a research-based narrative essay—each developed through multiple drafts with thoughtful reflections. Alongside these projects, students read a range of curated texts to study voice, structure, pacing, and credibility. (One Term)