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MODERN SHORT FICTION

246.001 MWF 11:30 - 12:20

INSTRUCTOR Dr. Mosier. Office: 344A Bobet Hall. Phone: 865-2296. Secretarial offices are in Bobet 318. Work or messages handed in there will be put in my mailbox. I encourage students to e-mail me with questions about their work or the material read. My e-mail address is [email protected].

OFFICE HOURS Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 8:00 12:30 (when not in class)

DESCRIPTION. This course introduces the student to modern short fiction, that is, short stories and novel- las written in the last hundred years or so. The age of significant modern short fiction begins with contin- ental writers, who continue to furnish the most significant examples of the form, so the emphasis is on au- thors writing in languages other than English. In addition to learning how to read and interpret such works, the student will receive an introduction into some of the major fiction writers in Europe

TEXTS together with their publishers, are listed below. 1. Available at the Bookstore: Thomas Mann, Death in Venice. (Vintage 978-0679722069). Colette, Gigi, Julie de Carneilhan, and Chance Acquaintances (FSG 978-0374527853) , The Complete Stories (Shocken 978-0805210552). , . (New Directions 978-0811216999). 2. Available at University Print Shop (Monroe 236, extension 2113) for a modest fee and electronically. MindMaps I Chekhov: Short Novels and Stories. (163 pages, Blue Cover) MindMaps II Russian and Soviet Block Writers (141 pages, Red Cover) MindMaps III German, Hungarian, and Slavic Writers (168 pages, Green Cover) MindMaps IV Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian Writers (111 pages, Yellow Cover)

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 1. Daily Journal: 20% 2. Daily Written exercise: 20% 3. In Class Exams: 15% 4. Paper: 20% 5. Cumulative Final Exam: 25%

Each category is explained in detail below. I use a conventional grading scale where 90-100 is an A, and so on. If no one has scores between 90-100, the scale is moved down. However, nearly 20% of the stu- dents enrolled in my classes in recent terms have had final grade scores of 90 or higher. And the distribu- tion has been pretty steady across all courses. In other words, don’t delude yourself: there are some ter- rific students out there who are doing excellent work. Each category is explained in detail below. I use a conventional grading scale where 90-100 is an A, and so on. If no one has scores between 90-100, the scale is moved down. Course grades are averaged; how- ever, the student who fails to turn in a journal, or who has excessive absences, will fail the course regard- less.

Fall 2011 Eng A 246.001: 1 DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS I make every attempt to help students with disabilities. However, under normal circumstances you should present the request (through the appropriate university office) within a week of the beginning of the course so we can discuss arrangements. Such requests do not ex- empt you from course requirements for attendance and timely submission of work.

ATTENDANCE While there is no attendance requirement per se, I reserve the right to adjust a student’s grade in the case of excessive and habitual lateness or absence. Habitual means a block of around five or more, and excessive means anything in excess of seven. Absences above three or four will affect your grade, no matter how valid the excuse is in your mind, your mother’s mind, your coach’s mind, or the mind of some other department or instructor. Anyone missing more than eight classes is liable to fail the course, regardless of the grades on work submitted. This is not a correspondence course. I suggest you save your absences for genuine emergencies. So there’s no misunderstanding: lateness means the student is not seated and ready to write when the ex- ercises are being handed out, and absence means the student is not there for the full 50 minutes of class. I suggest that those of you who are accustomed to wandering in and out of the classroom take particular note of this. I do. On a more positive note (at last!), I also take consistent attendance into account.

Explanation of Grade Categories

1. DAILY JOURNAL: 20%. Buy a cheap 8 ½ by 11 spiral notebook just for this purpose. Towards of every class period, I’ll pose a general question. Write a page on it. No: pencils, loose leaf sheets, or computer generated text. I’ll pick these up at regular intervals announced beforehand. You should end up with almost 40 journal entries. Late journals won’t be accepted. Grades are assigned on the basis of how many essays have been written. If the notebook should have 10 essays in it and it only has 6, that’s an F. 7 is a D. 8 is a C, and so on. Stu- dents who miss the question for that period will have to get it from someone else in class. Please pay particular attention to the following. This is an easy way to earn an A. But as the pedagogical purpose is to get you to write regularly on topics related to the readings and viewings, I don’t mind the bonus. However, since this is basically a free grade, I absolutely will not accept work that does not conform precisely to the specifications given above as to format and timeliness. Precisely means all entries in an 8 ½ by 11 spiral notebook containing nothing else, at least a full page for each entry (single spaced—about 230-250 words), entries hand written in ink or ballpoint. Every semester someone decides that none of this applies, and is shocked and horrified to discover an F on whatever (eventually) got turned in. If you do not hand a completed journal in on the dates specified, you will fail the course.

LATE REGISTRATIONS, ABSENCES, ILLNESS students are responsible for getting the journal topics for the classes they missed and completing them.

2. DAILY EXERCISE: 20%. With occasional exceptions (the day after an exam, etc.,) each class will begin with the student writing a short paragraph on an announced topic. Some of these will relate to the read- ings, some to journal assignments, and others to papers and presentations. Only five minutes of class time is allotted to this, and there are no make ups. If you miss, you miss. If you’re late, you’re absent. Over the course of the semester, there should be about 39 exercises.

3. MID TERM EXAM: 15%. The exams will require the student to write three essays on the readings. The exams are open book, that is, the student may use class notes as well as the texts themselves. Each an- swer should be a developed essay of around 250 words in which you answer the question, supporting your answer with examples from the text. Insofar as is possible, try to answer the question completely. The best way to prepare for essay examinations is by writing trial essays. If you make up four elementary questions and then try to write out essays answering them, you will improve your performance on the ac-

Fall 2011 Eng A 246.001: 2 tual test, regardless of how you feel about the questions you have made up. I am more than willing to read drafts of papers or trial essays. Generally, students do poorly on essay exams because they do not budget their time effectively, and/or have done no previous practice essay writing. If there is one practical piece of advice I can give, it is to be- gin the essay with a brief answer to the question of around 30-50 words, and then proceed to develop the specifics of the answer. Incidentally, this principle works very well in many other situations as well, such as law, medicine, and business. In other words: get to the point. MISSED EXAMS. As the dates for these are already known (see the last page of this syllabus) there are no makeups. In some cases, I will let an additional paper on a pre set topic substitute for the missed exam, provided the arrangements are made within 48 hours of the missed exam.

4. CUMULATIVE FINAL EXAM: 25%. The final exam is like in class exams discussed above, but the student has two hours instead of one, so there will be more questions. In general, this is the point at which the student should demonstrate a mastery of the overall aims of the course.

5. PAPER: 20%. The basics: 2,000 words. The paper itself is due Friday, November 18, but a one page (two or three paragraphs at most) proposal is due on Friday, October 14. The proposal explains which topic has been chosen and what the basic points are the paper will make. You are not eligible to hand in the paper if you do not hand in the proposal on this date and make the revisions to it as required until you have an approved proposal. Your proposal is approved when you receive a cover sheet back with the pro- posal saying it is approved. Papers must be typed. Please make sure you save your work on disk so you can retrieve it in case there is a need for revision. Papers must be typed, double-spaced, with 1 to 1½" margins. If you're in doubt, this means about 28 6½" lines of type per page. Use a normal font such as 10 point Times New Roman or similar (the base font for this syllabus is 1o point Georgia). The title of the paper should be at of the page, in caps, and centered. There’s no requirement for research; but you must identify any quotations you use, and if you do decide to do research, you must use one of the standard documentation systems employed at the college level. I'll be happy to read early drafts, or sit down and go over your ideas. My general practice is that when I get a paper that is potentially a good paper, but has some serious problems, I let the student rewrite it without any penalty. That's the good news. The bad news is that this unfortunately means that you can put in a lot of work on the paper if you don't do a good job the first time. I will not read papers that do not conform to my instructions. Papers that are handed in from 1 to 48 hours late automatically get a C and no chance to rewrite. Over 48 hours and the work won’t be counted. If I don’t get a proposal on the dates specified on the cover sheets I return to you for successive rewrites, I won’t read the paper—or grade it. Ditto if your proposal hasn’t been approved, or if yu never handed one in. Paper grade reverts to an F. This is not negotiable.

PAPER TOPICS. The topic is an analysis of one or more of the stories listed below, relating its theme (or some other liter- ary property) to other stories by the same author. Thomas Mann. Tonio Kröger, Disorder and Early Sorrow, or Felix Krull. Franz Kafka. “A Country Doctor,” “Wedding Preparations in the Country,” “Investigations of a Dog,” “.” Jorge Luis Borges. “Sect of the Phoenix,” “The Immortal,” “.” Chekhov, My Life, A Woman’s Kingdom. I’m amenable to others, but they’ll have to be cleared with me in advance and you’ll still have to supply me with a written prospectus of what you plan to do. Please don’t try to bore me with some topic clearly derived from work you’ve done in another course, work that’s been pounded into the intellectual ground by generations of student writers, or some other hoary chestnut..

Fall 2011 Eng A 246.001: 3 DATES READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Note: The list below covers only those works discussed in class. Mo Aug 29 - Fr 31 Leskov, “Lady McBeth” (MMII); Bazan, Ripper,” “First Love” (MMIV) Fr 2-Sep - Mo 5-Sep Labor Day Holiday We 6-Sep – Fr 8 Tolstoy, “The Devil,” “The Forged Coupon” (MMII) Mo 12-Sep – Fr 16 Chekhov, “Ana Around Your Neck,” “The Duel” (MMIII) Mo 19-Sep – Fr 23 Schnitzler, “Frau Beata,” Miszath, “Prakovsky” (MMIII) Mo 26-Sep – Fr 30 Mann, Death in Venice Mo 3-Oct – Fr 7 Mann, Blood of the Walsungs, Tristram Mo 10-Oct – Fr 14 Colette, Gigi Mo 17-Oct – Tu 18 No classes We 19-Oct Mid Term Exam Fr 21-Oct Franz Kafka: “Give it Up”; “”; “” Mo 24-Oct – Fr 28 “The Judgement”; “” “” Mo 31-Oct – Fr Nov Borges, “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbus Tertius;” “Piere Menard” Mo 7-Nov – Fr 11 Borges, “Funes the Memorious,” “.” Mo 14-Nov– Fr 18 – Mo 21 Dürrenmatt, “Judge and Executioner” (MMIII) We 23-Nov – Fr 25 Thanksgiving Holidays, no classes Mo 28-Nov – Fr Dec 2 Solzhenitsyn, “Incident at Kretchatova Station,” (MMII) Mo 5-Dec – Fr 9 Voinovich, “The Fur Hat” (MMII)

Fri 16-Sep 1st installment of Journals due Fr 7-Oct I to F from Spring 2011 Fr 14-Oct Proposa Due for Paper Fr 21-Oct Midterm Grades are due Fri 28-Oct 2nd installment of Journals due Fr 18-Nov Paper Due Fri 9-Dec 3rd installment of Journals due Mon 12-Dec Final Exam at 11:30

Fall 2011 Eng A 246.001: 4