Class: Section 2, # 32188
MWF 11:15-12:05, SOM 26
Website: http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~dobreva/shortstory.htm
Instructor: Nikolina Dobreva
dobreva@complit.umass.edu
Office: W 12:10-2:10 and by appointment
Bart 15, 545-3402
Mailbox: South College 303
This class is an introduction to the short story as a literary genre. It is a Comparative Literature class, so it covers a broad selection of stories, written in English and other languages. The main objective of the class is to teach you how to read, interpret, and discuss short stories. Further, it aims at improving your analytical thinking, your critical writing skills, and your awareness of the world. You will explore the limits of the genre, as well as the cultural context and the power relations operative within each individual story, especially with reference to race, class, and gender.
A course packet (CP #839) including all the required readings is available at the CopyCat
Print Shop, 37 E. Pleasant St, Amherst.
Ten 1-2 page response papers (min. 250 words each) 10%
6 quizzes (lowest grade dropped) 10%
Midterm paper (comparative analysis of two stories) 25% - due Mon, Oct 20
Final paper (comparative analysis of three stories) 30% - due Fri, Dec 12
Attendance and loudmouthed participation
(including the submission of questions for discussion) 25%
Notes: 1) Attendance will be taken during every class. More than three unexcused absences will result in automatic failure. 2) No makeup quizzes will be given; no late papers will be accepted.
Tentative Schedule:
Wed, Sept 3: Introduction to the course and syllabus.
Fri, Sept 5: Introduction to the short story as a genre.
Mon, Sept 8: The fascination of the narrative. Narrative structures. The Arabian Nights as a precursor of the short story. Read the “Forward and Prologue” (pp. 2-9).
Wed, Sept 10: The Arabian Nights contd. Use of the fantastic. Read “The Story of the Merchant and the Demon” (pp. 9-15).
Fri, Sept 12: Edgar Allan Poe’s views on the short story. Do his stories follow his definition? Read the “Review of Twice Told Tales” (pp. 250-254) and “The Cask of Amontillado” (pp. 15-19).
Mon, Sept 15: Quiz 1. Poe contd. Read “The Black Cat” and “The Purloined Letter” (pp. 19-32). How does Poe build suspense? What makes his stories interesting?
Wed, Sept 17: Other views on the short story. Read Matthews, Chekhov and Rohrberger (pp. 254-265).
Fri, Sept 19: Summary. What is the short story after all? Give your own preliminary definition.
Mon, Sept 22: How important to the story is plot? Should the different treatment of a theme be reflected in a different structure? Read Verga’s “The She-Wolf” (pp. 41-44) and O’Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” (pp. 32-35).
Wed, Sept 24: Quiz 2. Whose choice is it? Is a twist at the end essential? Read Sartre’s “The Wall” (pp. 44-53).
Fri, Sept 26: What “happens” in a story? Can there be plot without action? Read Böll’s “Action Will Be Taken” (pp. 53-56).
Mon, Sept 29: How are characters built and revealed to the reader? Read Gogol’s “The Overcoat” (pp. 56-72).
Wed, Oct 1: “The Overcoat” contd. Whose side are we on? Is the fantastic element necessary?
Fri, Oct 3: Character in situation. Who is to judge? Read Babel’s “The Sin of Jesus” and Capek’s “The Last Judgement” (pp. 72-79).
Mon, Oct 6: Quiz 3. Society restrictions, story restrictions. A look at duty and love. Read Mishima’s “Patriotism” (pp. 79-88).
Wed, Oct 8: “Patriotism” contd.
Fri, Oct 10: More on loyalty and liberty. Where does race come in? Read Chamoiseau’s “The Old Man Slave and the Mastiff” (pp. 96-101).
Mon, Oct 13: Holiday, Columbus Day.
Wed, Oct 15: Who is to blame? Women and race. Read Chopin’s “Desirée’s Baby” and Prichard’s “N’Goola” (pp. 88-96).
Fri, Oct 17: Building a character around an absence of character. Where are the women in all the stories we’ve read? Read Chekhov’s “The Darling” (pp. 101-108).
Mon, Oct 20: “The Darling” contd. Midterm papers due.
Wed, Oct 22: Who’s watching? Read Al-Saadawi’s “The Picture” (pp. 125-130).
Fri, Oct 24: Quiz 4. Who’s talking? Introducing orality into writing. Read Silko’s “Yellow Woman” (pp. 146-155).
Mon, Oct 27: Whose version is there to stay? A glimpse at Orientalism. Read Lispector’s “The Smallest Woman in the World” (pp. 162-165).
Wed, Oct 29: Unique vs multiple points of view. How to survive without going mad? Read Borowski’s “This Way to the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen” (pp. 155-162).
Fri, Oct 31: And what if one does go mad? Read Xun’s “Diary of a Madman” (pp. 165-172).
Mon, Nov 3: Quiz 5. Recap – point of view. Read Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” (pp. 108-125).
Wed, Nov 5: “The Metamorphosis” contd.
Fri, Nov 7: Another look at the fantastic. Whom do we believe? Read Galeano’s “The Story of the Lizard Who Had the Habit of Dining on His Wives” (pp. 179-182).
Mon, Nov 10: Whatever happened to the plot? Read Barth’s “On With the Story” (pp. 182-190).
Wed, Nov 12: “On With the Story” contd.
Fri, Nov 14: And character? Read Pelevin’s “The Life and Adventures of Shed Number XII” (pp. 190-194).
Mon, Nov 17: What about reality and fiction? Who has control over the elements of a story? Read Arenas’ “The Glass Tower” (pp. 202-207).
Wed, Nov 19: More on the mundane and the fantastic. Read Márquez’s A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” (pp. 199-202).
Fri, Nov 21: Quiz 6. To what extent can a reader get involved in the narrative? Read Woody Allen’s “The Kugelmass Episode” (pp. 207-212).
Mon, Nov 24: Crossing the line again and again. Read Cortázar’s “A Continuity of Parks” (pp. 212-214)
Wed, Nov 26: No class since most students are absent that day.
Fri, Nov 28: Thanksgiving break.
Mon, Dec 1: Does it matter what the critics say? Who is to establish the truth? Read Borges’ “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote” (pp. 214-219).
Wed, Dec 3: A lighthearted look at writing. Why a second-person narration? Read Lorrie Moore’s “How to Become a Writer?” (pp. 219-222).
Fri, Dec 5: Is it still a short story, and what makes it so? Read Borges’ “Borges and I” and Al-Shamlan’s “Fragments From a Life” (pp. 222-226).
Mon, Dec 8: What if it has pictures? Do short stories have to be “word-only”? How do images contribute to the story? Read Ennis’ “Cassidy: Blood and Whiskey” from The Preacher (pp. 226-250).
Wed, Dec 10: The Preacher contd. A glimpse of hyperfiction.
Fri, Dec 12: Conclusion. Final papers due.