This course will focus on reading the short story from the
perspective of craft. We will learn to ask questions about the import of
imaginative literature and to study the basic elements of the short story, such
as character, point of view, dialogue, plot, etc. Our goals will be (1) to
learn about writing techniques and craft in short stories; (2) to learn how to
ask good, meaningful questions, particularly those that arise when we read
closely and experience these short stories; (3) to develop textual analyses
that help us understand how the stories provoke questions about our own lives
and contemporary world. The course will include a mid-term exploratory essay, a
final research essay, reading response blogs, writing exercises, quizzes, peer
review, in-class and online participation, etc.
Course Texts:
The Art of Fiction by David Lodge (available at Revolution Books)
Course Reader (available at Professional Image)