International Short Story

Comparative Literature 121

University of Massachusetts/Amherst

Dale Hudson

Spring 2000

South College 309

MWF 10.10–11.00

Office hours: W 11.15–1.15

Machmer W-17

Telephone: 545.0929

Schedule no. 586340, lecture 1

e-mail: daleh@complit.umass.edu

Course description

This course covers short stories from Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. An examination of excerpts from several medieval chain-tales will serve as our introduction. We will discuss the conception of the "short story" as a literary genre in the 19th century, particularly in Europe and North America. For the remainder of the semester, we will look how 20th-century writers have adapted the basic form of the short story. We will pay close attention to how stories may be used to critique—overtly or obliquely—cultural and ideological systems by learning to recognize indications of historical or political context. Our focus will be on close reading, interpretation, discussion, and comparative analysis.

Required texts

Course packet in two volumes available at Campus Copy and Design, 401 Student Union

Course requirements

Short paper no. 1

10%

Close reading of a story; 2–3 pages; due 14 February

Short paper no. 2

10%

Close reading of a story; 2–3 pages; due 06 March

Midterm paper

15%

Comparative analysis of two stories; 4–5 pages; due 03 April

Final paper

25%

Comparative analysis of three stories; 6–7 pages; due 17 May

Quizzes

15%

Unannounced; 5 total; 2 lowest grades dropped; no make-up quizzes

Participation

25%

Attendance and active participation required; brief in-class presentation

All reading assignments should be completed by the date they appear on the syllabus.

Active participation is not optional! Discussion is an important means to develop analytical skills. Test your insights without the "pressures" associated with written assignments, and see what your classmates think.

You will be asked to lead the discussion for at least one reading assignment. Prepare five questions about the assigned story that will stimulate discussion. In most cases, plot-related questions will not generate active discussion. While these brief in-class presentations are not separately graded, they do contribute to the participation grade. Also, the work you put into your presentation may be useful when you write your papers.

Unannounced quizzes are designed to test your reading skills. If you keep up with the reading assignments, you should do well on the quizzes. They will consist of simple questions and are intended to help you increase your overall grade for the course.

Your two short papers should focus on a close reading of an aspect of a single story, such as theme, characterization, narrative structure, tone, or point of view. The objective of these short papers is to sharpen your analytic skills and prepare you for the comparative analysis of the midterm and final papers. A list of suggested paper topics will be distributed for the midterm and final papers. All papers should be double-spaced with standard fonts, point sizes, and margins. On average, a page should contain about 250 words. Papers appreciably shorter or longer than this limit will not be accepted. Electronic submissions (e-mail attachments) will be accepted in special circumstances with advanced permission only.

Late assignments will not be accepted unless special arrangements are made in advance. Please note that the night before the paper is due is too late to make special arrangements—as is the beginning of class on the day the paper is due. "I wasn’t in class when the assignment was given" or "I have two other papers to write" are not valid excuses for making special arrangements or submitting papers late.

If you have questions about anything related to the course, I am available after class, or you may contact me by telephone or e-mail. Should you be unable to make office hours, schedule an appointment for another time.

Absence policy

If you will miss class due to religious observance or participation in a sporting event, please notify me in advance. If you miss class for medical reasons, please provide a note from your doctor and notify me of extended absences. Remember, missing a class does not excuse you from respecting assignment deadlines. Please make arrangements with me as soon as possible to discuss possible extensions.

J A N U A R Y

W 26

Introduction

F 28

Excerpts from Somadeva, "´Saú´s¯aúnkavat¯i" in the Kath¯asarits¯agara [Ocean of the Sea of Story] (ca. 1070)

M 31

Excerpts from Muhsin Mahdi, ed., The Arabian Nights (14th-century MS)

F E B R U A R Y

W 02

Excerpts from Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron (ca. 1350–1353)

F 04

E. T. A. Hoffmann, "The Sandman" (1815–1816)

M 07

Nikolai Gogol, "The Nose" (1836)

W 09

Edgar Allan Poe, "The Short Story" (1847), "The Oval Portrait" (1842), and "The Man of the Crowd" (1840)

F 11

Guy de Maupassant, "Hautot and his Son" (1889); and
Giovanni Verga "The Wolf" (1880)

M 14

Anton Chekhov, "Technique in Writing the Short Story" (1886–1899) and "A Lady with a Dog" (1899); Short paper no. 1 due

W 16

Excerpts from Brander Matthews, "The Philosophy of the Short-Story" (1888);
Katherine Anne Porter, "No Plot, My Dear, No Story" (1942); and
Virginia Woolf, "The Mark on the Wall" (1917)

F 18

Luigi Pirandello, "Tragedy of a Character" (1911), "Signora Frola and her Son-in-Law, Signor Ponza" (1915)

M 21

Holiday

W 23

Franz Kafka, "Before the Law" (1914), "An Imperial Message" (1917), and "The Judgment" (1912)

F 25

Benjamin Péret, "A Life Full of Interest" (1922);
Leonora Carrington, "The Debutante" (1939); and
Joyce Mansour, "The Cancer" (1957) plus surprise surrealist games!

M 28

Flannery O’Connor, "Good Country People" (1955)

M A R C H

W 01

Tadeusz Borowski, "This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen" (1948)

F 03

Ingeborg Bachmann, "The Barking" (ca. 1972)

M 06

Gabriel García Márquez, "The Sea of Lost Time" (1961); Short paper no. 2 due

W 08

Jorge Luis Borges, "The Circular Ruins" (1941) and "Borges and I" (ca. 1960); and
Luisa Valenzuela, "The Censors" (1983)

F 10

Guillermo Cabrera Infante, "Nest, Door, Neighbors" (1955); and
Horacio Quiroga, "How the Flamingoes Got Their Stockings" (1921)

M 13–F17

Spring holiday

M 20

Clarice Lispector, "The Imitation of the Rose" (1973)

W 22

Julio Cortázar, "Blow-Up" (1959) and "Letter to a Young Lady in Paris" (1951)

F 24

Birago Diop, "Sarzan" (1961)

M 27

Ama Ata Aidoo, "Certain Winds from the South" (ca. 1970)

W 29

Bessie Head, "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses" (1973)

F 31

Bernard Dadié, "The Hunter and the Boa" and "The Mirror of Dearth" (1953)

A P R I L

M 03

Naguib Mahfouz, "Zaabalawi" (1961); Midterm paper due

W 05

Alifa Rifaat, "Distant View of a Minaret" and "An Incident in the Ghobashi Household" (ca. 1980s)

F 07

Rabindranath Tagore, "The Cabuliwallah" (ca. 1916)

M 10

Ismat Chughtai, "The Quilt" (1942)

W 12

Salman Rushdie, "The Courter" (1994)

F 14

Pramoedya Ananta Toer, "Inem" (1952)

M 17

Holiday

W 19

K,o¯n Krail¯a¯t’, "In the Mirror" (1978)

Th 20

Lu Xun, "Diary of a Madman" (1918)

F 21–M24

Eileen Chang, "Love in a Fallen City" (1943)

W 26

Tanizaki Jun’ichir¯o, "The Tattooer" (1910)

F 28

Harada Yasuko, "Evening Bells" (1960)

M A Y

M 01

Dino Buzzati, "The Saucer Has Landed" (1954) and "The Scandal on Via Sesostri" (1971)

W 03

Natalia Ginzburg, "The Mother" (1948); and
Susanna Tamaro, "The Big White House" (1991)

F 05

Tommaso Landolfi, "Gogol’s Wife" and "Pastoral" (1954); and
Italo Calvino, "All at One Point" (1965)

M 08

Alberto Moravia, "The Triple Looking-Glass" (1963); and
Primo Levi, "The Mirror Maker" (1985)

W 10

Antonio Tabucchi, "The Backwards Game" (1981)

W 17

Final paper due by noon in Complit Office, 3rd floor, South College