Course Syllabus MLS 515A 01—Writing the Long Story Orlando Hall Rm 215 Tuesday-Thursday (2:00-3:15) August 25 – December 11, 2015 Instructor: Professor Philip F. Deaver Contact info: [email protected]; phone 407-646-2107 Course Overview I wish for the students in this class to come to understand the excitement and the absorption of the long short story. Imagine Peter Taylor writing “The Old Forest,” a recollection from his youth. Imagine remembering Kelly Ann and his parents. Imagine remembering his car wreck and how Kelly Ann hopped out of the car, went down the embankment in the snow, then up into the forest where there was a civil war skirmish long ago. Stories are written from recollections, yours, of the past, and the long story absorbs you into the past and allows you to settle yourself down about the past and to relax with your memories. Required Text The Granta Book of the American Long Story, Richard Ford, ed. Course Policies Three absences are allowed. Arriving late counts as an absence. I advise that you bank one absence for a rainy day. Bad things can happen in a semester—death in the family, athletic injury, any number of things. It will serve you well to have one absence saved out of the three for when the inevitable happens. A fourth absence will result in dropping a full grade point, so beware. Quizzes and Tests If I detect that students are not keeping up with the assignments, you may expect a quiz on the reading I’ve assigned. I am trying to get you to understand how to write a story, a literary story, and you need to read the stories to internalize how to do it. A quiz could happen, if you aren’t keeping up. So beware. Course Schedule Syllabus is subject to change on a moment’s notice. So beware. August-September 25 Begin your 3000 word story September 1 “The Old Forest,” by Peter Taylor 8 “June Recital,” by Eudora Welty 15 “The Making of Ashenden,” by Stanley Elkin 22 “Rosa,” by Cynthia Ozick 29 “The Age of Grief,” by Jane Smiley October 6 Story Number One due; “I Lock My Door Upon Myself,” by Joyce Carol Oates 13 “Why Not a Novella?” by Richard Ford 20 “Caroline’s Wedding,” by Edwidge Danticat 27 “The Long March,” by William Styron November 1 Story Number Two due. 8 Workshop 15 Workshop 22 Workshop 25-29 No Class (Thanksgiving Break) December 6 Story Number Three, plus portfolio due. Classes end on December 11, a Monday. Academic Honor Code The Philosophy of the Academic Honor Code This course subscribes to the Academic Honor Code of Rollins College. Read more below: Integrity and honor are central to the Rollins College mission to educate its students for responsible citizenship and ethical leadership. Rollins College requires adherence to a code of behavior that is essential for building an academic community committed to excellence and scholarship with integrity and honor. Students, faculty, staff, and administration share the responsibility for building and sustaining this community. Each student matriculating into Rollins College must become familiar with the Academic Honor System. The College requires that students be able and willing to accept the rights and responsibilities of honorable conduct, both as a matter of personal integrity and as a commitment to the values to which the College community commits itself. It is the responsibility of instructors to set clear guidelines for authorized and unauthorized aid in their courses. It is the responsibility of students to honor those guidelines and to obtain additional clarification if and when questions arise about possible violations of the Honor Code. To report an Academic Honor Code violation, contact Janette Smith at [email protected] To review a pdf of the Academic Honor Code, go to http://net.rollins.edu/academichonorcode/ Attention Rollins Students: If you are interested in serving on the Academic Honor Council for 2014-15, please download and complete the AHC form and submit it to the Dean's Office, You may also email the application to Janette Smith at [email protected] .