Genre structure, narrative techniques and thematic traditions. Extensive reading and discussion of works by European, British, American, and Third World authors. This course meets General Education requirements: Cultural Enrichment and Global Consciousness.

The goal of this course is to introduce students to a variety of forms of the short story as practiced around the world.  The course begins with with an overview of the traditional character story.  Particular emphasis is put on the idea of reading the story closely and isolating passages and quotations which support the reader’s interpretation of the story.  From there, we proceed to a wide variety of short stories ranging from Kafka and Camus to recent stories by Sherman Alexie and Chinua Achebe and a two week side trip into the Vietnam War stories of Tim O’Brien.   Students write one long interpretation paper at week five and then several two page essays at week ten and again at week fifteen.    There is also a student group project, which has varied from semester to semester.   This is a great class for people who like to read and discuss.

Two sections:

MW 4:30-5:45 PM

TR 4:30-5:45 PM