Fall 2018 | ENGL 1031 Section 001: Introduction to the Short Story (33510)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Lecture
- Credits:
- 3 Credits
- Grading Basis:
- Student Option
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- In Person Term Based
- Class Attributes:
- UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
- Times and Locations:
- Regular Academic Session09/04/2018 - 12/12/2018Mon, Wed 02:30PM - 03:45PMUMTC, East BankFord Hall 151
- Enrollment Status:
- Closed (30 of 30 seats filled)
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- English literature boasts some of the most powerful, beautifully crafted short stories in world literature. In this class, we will use the short story as a path for understanding the craft of writing: how writers use language to present a vividly imagined world in a short number of pages. We will also examine the importance of genre: how, for example, a detective short story differs from a slice of life story. This is a lecture course, but will involve substantial student discussion. There will be 2 papers, a midterm, and a final.
- Class Notes:
- http://classinfo.umn.edu/?jodel002+ENGL1031+Fall2018
- Class Description:
- English literature boasts some of the most powerful, beautifully crafted short stories in world literature. In this class, we will use the short story as a path for understanding the craft of writing: how writers use language to present a vividly imagined world in a short number of pages. We will also examine the importance of genre: how, for example, a detective short story differs from a slice of life story, as well as how genres such as detective and science fiction invite us to examine how narratives are constructed.
This course is divided into three units: I. Origins and definitions of the short story. II. Elements of Narrative. III. Additional genres of the short story
We will read approx. 4-5 short stories a week (some quite short), save for the last two weeks, during which we'll read an author collection by sf/f writer Ted Chiang.
Our short stories will contain a mix of classics of 19th-c and 20th-c American fiction (Poe, Twain, Anderson, Melville, Hawthorne, Du Bois, Hemingway, etc.); classics from early 20th-century world literature by Franz Kafka, Anton Chekhov, Jorge Luis Borges, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez; and an assortment of 20th-century fiction by celebrated authors working in a wide range of genres, modes, and locations (Ursula K. Le Guin, Angela Carter, Tanith Lee,Toni Cade Bambara, Lorrie Moore, Kelly Link, Sherman Alexie, Chinua Achebe, Sandra Cisneros, Ryƫnosuke Akutagawa, George R. R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Haruki Murakami, Luisa Valenzuela, Nalo Hopkinson, and others).
Presentation: Collaborative Class Story
Along with 4-5 members of the class, you will be asked to present on a topic pertaining to the class's collaborative short story. (Yes, we will write a short story together!) We will use this short story to better understand the features and effects of several key narrative elements, as well as to discuss how genre affects the construction and reception of a text. If you don't consider yourself a creative writer, don't panic--your group will be responsible for only a few paragraphs of fiction. The real challenge of the presentation will be to explain to the class why you made the authorial choices you did, given that week's topic (e.g., a topic such as tone, plot, setting, or characterization).Textbooks (Required)
1. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang, ISBN: 9781101972120
2. The Short Story: An Introduction, by Paul March-Russell, ISBN: 978-0-7486-2774-5
3. The Story and Its Writer, ed. Ann Charters, 8th edition, ISBN: 9780312596231 (or the 9th edition, if necessary)
I've tried to keep the cost of textbooks below $50. All of the texts above are currently available on Amazon or other online booksellers as used books for less than $10 each. All textbooks will also be available at the bookstore.
- Who Should Take This Class?:
Anyone drawn to the short story as a genre or to the study of fiction, in general. Majors and non-majors welcome. No prerequisites required.
ENGL 1031 satisfies the Literature Core requirement.
- Learning Objectives:
- _____________________
I. ANALYTICAL SKILLS: This course will use the short story to teach you about the importance of a liberal education by engaging with three major issues: (1) the development of arguments that use reason and evidence to come to a conclusion; (2) the acquisition of analytical skills that will allow you to respond to stories written in a variety of cultural contexts; and (3) the ability to recognize more and less valid modes of approaching literary analysis.
II. WRITING SKILLS: Most of the assignments, including the presentation, involve writing (analytical, argumentative, expository, and a limited amount of creative writing). We will also spend one week on "reading and writing about literature" during which our non-fiction readings will introduce you to strategies and insights that will assist you in writing a literary analysis for a literature course.
III. LITERARY HISTORY AND TERMINOLOGY: Students will learn the key elements of narrative and will examine classic texts from several major literary periods through class discussions, handouts, and targeted non-fiction readings.
- Grading:
- 20%........Paper 1 (4-5 pages) (close reading essay on a story of your choice)
25%........Paper 2 (5-6 pages) (final paper: compare/contrast paper on two stories of your choice)
20%........Participation (all discussion and misc. assignments, including any in-class group work)
15%........Group presentation (on your section of the class's collaborative short story)
10%........Attendance
5%..........Quiz 1 (midterm)
5%..........Quiz 2 (at conclusion of course)
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100% - Exam Format:
- Final paper (paper 2)
- Class Format:
- In-person class sessions on East Bank campus.
- Workload:
- Moderate to heavy reading load. Moderate writing load. Minimal in-class group work. One group presentation.
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/33510/1189
- Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 8 August 2018
Fall 2018 | ENGL 1031 Section 002: Introduction to the Short Story (35234)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Lecture
- Credits:
- 3 Credits
- Grading Basis:
- Student Option
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- In Person Term Based
- Class Attributes:
- UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
- Times and Locations:
- Regular Academic Session09/04/2018 - 12/12/2018Mon, Wed 02:30PM - 03:45PMUMTC, East BankLind Hall 229
- Enrollment Status:
- Closed (31 of 30 seats filled)
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- English literature boasts some of the most powerful, beautifully crafted short stories in world literature. In this class, we will use the short story as a path for understanding the craft of writing: how writers use language to present a vividly imagined world in a short number of pages. We will also examine the importance of genre: how, for example, a detective short story differs from a slice of life story. This is a lecture course, but will involve substantial student discussion. There will be 2 papers, a midterm, and a final.
- Class Description:
- Student may contact the instructor or department for information.
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/35234/1189
Fall 2018 | ENGL 1031 Section 003: Introduction to the Short Story (36220)
- Instructor(s)
- Class Component:
- Lecture
- Credits:
- 3 Credits
- Grading Basis:
- Student Option
- Instructor Consent:
- No Special Consent Required
- Instruction Mode:
- In Person Term Based
- Class Attributes:
- UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
- Times and Locations:
- Regular Academic Session09/04/2018 - 12/12/2018Mon, Wed 02:30PM - 03:45PMUMTC, East BankAmundson Hall 162
- Enrollment Status:
- Closed (30 of 30 seats filled)
- Also Offered:
- Course Catalog Description:
- English literature boasts some of the most powerful, beautifully crafted short stories in world literature. In this class, we will use the short story as a path for understanding the craft of writing: how writers use language to present a vividly imagined world in a short number of pages. We will also examine the importance of genre: how, for example, a detective short story differs from a slice of life story. This is a lecture course, but will involve substantial student discussion. There will be 2 papers, a midterm, and a final.
- Class Description:
- Our course strives to identify and define short stories through examination of 19th & 20th-century American fiction. How does a short story differ in style or focus from a novel or a novella or prose poem? What do short stories add to our understanding of narrative elements? How does the short story complicate or enrich our understanding of genre? In what ways can we connect the historical emergence of the short story to our current moment? How do we identify and consume of short stories today?In order to address some of these questions, we will read texts that span a variety of genres, locations, and styles. In order to so the range of ways that short stories pop up in unexpected places, we extend our readings of traditional short story forms to performance-based stories from The Moth and Mortified. We will also compare our reading of individual stories with the structured short story cycles using Clipping's 2016 album Splendor & Misery.This course is divided into three units: I. Origins and definitions of the short story. II. Elements of Narrative. III. Genres of the short story
We will read approx. 4-5 short stories a week (some quite short), these may also be paired with additional materials including literary criticism, historical or biographical references, or multimedia forms such as music, art, and video.
- Who Should Take This Class?:
- Anyone drawn to the short story as a genre or to the study of fiction, in general. Majors and non-majors welcome. No prerequisites required.
- Learning Objectives:
(1) CRITICAL REASONING: the development of arguments that use reason and evidence to come to a conclusion
(2) WRITING SKILLS: acquisition of analytical skills that will allow you to respond to stories written in a variety of cultural contexts
(3) LITERARY CRITICISM/ TERMINOLOGY: the ability to recognize more and less valid modes of approaching literary analysis
- Grading:
- 20%........Paper 1 (4-5 pages) (close reading essay on a story of your choice)25%........Paper 2 (5-6 pages) (final paper; write a response to one of 3 furnished prompts)15%........Participation (all discussion, online assignments/class prep, and misc. assignments including any in-class work)15%........Project10%........Attendance10%.......Quizzes (2 @ 5%)
------
100% - Class Format:
- In person class sessions; mixture of short lectures and class discussions; extensive use of Canvas
- Workload:
- Moderate to heavy reading; small and large group discussions & some group work
- Textbooks:
- https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/36220/1189
- Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
- 15 August 2018
ClassInfo Links - Fall 2018 English Classes
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