E 348: The Modern Short Story T-Th 3:30-5 Instructor: Brian Doherty 35735
Description: This foray into the short story as a form of literature will go as deeply into the 21st century as one can at this point, reading authors who use formal innovations and new approaches to language and memory to create a different kind of narrative (George Saunders, Karen Russell, Ted Chiang, etc.). Some historical precedent for this occurs in modernism, with writers like Anton Chekhov, Franz Kafka, and, well, Virginia Woolf; it reaches its heyday with what has come to be known as postmodern writing (and we will explore Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, Donald Barthelme). Since what we are investigating is the way narrative form and contemporary ideas have been creatively transformed by contemporary writers, and this is a work in progress, some of our readings will be decided upon and assigned “on the fly.” There will be some assignments that involve visiting writers and readings, and many of the texts will be in course readers.
Students will be expected to read 40-60 pages of fairly dense texts for each class period.
Requirement & Grading: [This is a Writing flag course.]
Test on classic experimenters: Author biographies, literary periods, plot 20% points: Two short (2-3-page) papers on individual stories: 20% Periodic quizzes on the day’s reading (best 5 of 7 taken for grade): 10% Participation in class discussion analyzing the stories: 10% 2 short (2 page) reviews of local readings or new film adaptations of short 10% stories Final paper (6-8 pages): 30%
Attendance. Attendance is required for this class—it is not an online class. Students may miss up to 4 classes with no penalty. For each missed class beyond 4, there will be a 7 point deduction from the student’s cumulative grade. This includes absences for any reason.
Plus and minus grades will be used in the class. A = 93-100; A- = 90-92.9; B + = 88-89.9; B = 83=87.9; B- = 80-82.9; C+ = 78-79.9; C = 73-77.9; C- = 70-72.9; D = 65-69.9. Below 65 = F. Please be aware of University policies and services for students with disabilities: http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/ Please be aware of the University Standard for Academic Integrity: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php
Required Texts: Ted Chiang. Stories of Your Life and Others. Franz Kafka. Metamorphosis and Other Stories. Karen Russell. Vampires in the Lemon Grove. George Saunders. In Persuasion Nation. Karin Tidbeck. Jagganath.
Schedule of Readings: August 30: Introduction to Course. Go over readings, policies.
September 4: Anon Chekhov and the modern short story. “The Lady with the Dog” and “The Black Monk.” 6: Virginia Woolf experiments in short fiction.
11: Lu Xun. Stories. 13: Franz Kafka.
18: Franz Kafka. 20: Franz Kafka.
25: Italo Calvino. 4 stories. 27: Donald Barthelme. 4 stories.
October 2: Test Number One. 4: Jorge Luis Borges. “Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” and “The Book of Sand.”
9: Ted Chiang. “The Story of Your Life.” Evening screening of film Arrival. 11: Discuss film, Arrival.
16: Jorge Luis Borges. “The Library of Babel” and “The Immortals.” 18: Ted Chiang. “The Tower of Babbel.”
23: George Saunders. “Jon.” 25: Ted Chiang. “Liking What You See: A Documentary.”
30: Donald Barthelme. “On Angels.” Chiang. “Hell is the Absence of God.” November 1: Maybe we’ve had enough of Ted Chiang—maybe not. Three stories to be discussed in class by three groups of readers.
6: George Saunders. Stories from In Persuasion Nation. 8: George Saunders. Stories from In Persuasion Nation.
13: Tales of Karen and Karin. Stories from Karen Russell. Vampires in the Lemon Grove. 15: Stories from Karen Russell. Vampires in the Lemon Grove.
20: Stories from Karin Tidbeck. Jagganath.
27: Stories from Karin Tidbeck. Jagganath. 29: Stories from Karin Tidbeck. Jagganath.
December 4: Two from Fall 2018 stories in The New Yorker. 6: Short celebration of those good things that come in the small packages that are short stories.
Additional University Policies: Honor Code: The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community. Academic Integrity: Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student's own work. For additional information on Academic Integrity, see http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acadint.php Documented Disability Statement: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 471-6259 (voice) or 232-2937 (video phone) or http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd Religious Holy Days: By UT Austin policy, you must notify instructor of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, you will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence.