Skip to main content

Studies in 20th-Century Literature (368-0-20)

Topic

Stories of the World: Short Fiction and the Making

Instructors

Clay Ross Cogswell

Meeting Info

University Hall 318: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

Students in this course will take a global tour of canonical and recent short fiction. Ranging over masters of the short story from Gogol to Kafka, Gordimer to Ngũgĩ, and Melville to Baldwin, we will conclude by turning to contemporary American authors Ted Chiang, Kelly Link, and Dantiel Moniz. The class will analyze the widely varying techniques by which stories from different cultures and perspectives achieve "unity of effect." We will pay particular attention to how these stories reflect, and construct, a national imaginary. Tales of alienation in the Russian caste system, intricate thought experiments from Argentina, and distillations of early American experience beguile us with their elegance even as they rewrite the narratives and myths of nationhood. Through theoretical accounts of national identity and close readings of the dialogues, details, and symbols that give a story its resonance, students will gain broad familiarity with the global history and current state of short fiction. Readings will be supplemented with seminal film adaptations such as All About Eve and Brokeback Mountain.

Teaching Method

Seminar discussion.

Evaluation Method

Essays and class participation.

Class Materials (Required)

Texts include: Chiang, Stories of Your Life and Others; Poe, Philosophy of Composition; Anderson, Imagined Communities.

Texts will be available at: Norris.

Class Attributes

Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area