Objectives and competences
• To introduce students to the historical range of short prose written in English.
• To explore the variety of genres that has developed out of short prose.
• To sample the critical literature on the subject, in particular the various attempts to define genres such as the short story, the parable, the exemplum, the tall tale, the sketch, the anecdote, the novella and the short story cycle.
• To explore pedagogical uses of short prose.
Content (Syllabus outline)
• Origins of short fiction: fable, parable, tale, anecdote
• 19th-century genres
• 20th-century short story
• Realism
• Modernism
• Postmodernism
• Short story cycles
• Short fiction theory
• Writing about short fiction: Terminology, explication and analysis
• Teaching the story; using stories in teaching
Learning and teaching methods
• lectures,
• seminars.
Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding
On completion of this course student will be able to:
Understand definitions of short prose genres
Distinguish among types of short prose
Apply critical theories to the interpretation of short prose both orally and in writing
Intended learning outcomes - transferable/key skills and other attributes
Take and defend a position in group discussion
Take autonomous positions and action in research and writing
Identify a pedagogical approach to story themes and techniques
Readings
The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction, Eds. R. V. Cassill & Richard Bausch. New York, Norton.
The Short Story: A Critical Introduction. Valerie Shaw. New York: Longman, 1983.
