University Bulletin
Undergraduate Degree Programs
ENGL 184
(GH;IL)
(CMLIT 184)
The Short Story (3) Lectures, discussion, readings in translation, with primary emphasis on major writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
ENGL 184 The Short Story (3)
(GH)
(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.
This course is designed to introduce students to the art of the short story and to acquaint them with some of its most talented writers. During the semester we will read short stories from various cultures and countries, ranging from stories written in the early nineteenth-century to those written within the last few years. Readings will include works from authors like Hawthorne, Melville, Toistoy, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Bierce, Chekhov, Kafka, Chopin, Crane, Gilman, James, Cather, Joyce, Woolf, Faulkner, Hemingway, Lawrence, Orwell, O'Connor, Baldwin, Olson, Silko, Erdrich, Ondaatje, Coover, Bafth, Bafthelme, DeLillo, Atwood, Mukherjee, Walker, Tan, Calvino, Garcia M,irquez, and Corti�zar. All readings will be in English. We will usually read one story for each class meeting and it is important that the story is read in advance of our discussion. This course is intended to help one learn how to read fiction, how to understand it, and how to talk about it. The desire to tell stories and to be told stories is one of the most basic human needs, and all cultures have been defined in part by the stories they hear and the stories they tell. We are not born, however, knowing how to read the short story or any fiction for that matter. Rather it is a skill that one acquires, and the more one does it, like playing tennis or any other activity, the better one becomes at it, for we learn what to look for. We will also explore the historical development of the short story genre, and examine how historical contexts relate to the content and style of the stories under discussion. We become familiar with how stories are put together and with the vocabulary that is used to discuss fiction--terms such as plot, narrative, character, tone, language, closure, irony, imagery, and so forth. Students will be evaluated by class participation, a group oral presentation on the historical contexts of a story, small group problem solving exercises, out of class essays, a reading response journal, and in-class exams (such as a mid-term and a final). ENGL/CMLIT 184 will complement a wide variety of offerings in the English curriculum, especially those examining fiction or prose narratives. Non majors may use this to fulfill a humanities requirement. This course may be used as English Major elective credit or as credit towards the English minor. This course may be used as English Major elective credit or as credit towards the English minor. Non-majors may use this to fulfill a humanities requirement. ENGL/CMLIT 184 is not required for the Comparative Literature major but may be selected to fulfill one of the course requirements for the major or the World Literature Minor. This course also fulfills the General Education Humanities requirement and the Bachelor of Arts Humanities requirement. It will be offered two times per year, with 60 seats per offering.
Note : Class size, frequency of offering, and evaluation methods will vary by location and instructor. For these details check the specific course syllabus.