ENG 180A: Modern American Short StoryInstructor: William Flesch Prerequisites: None Course Description: Great short stories are powerful because they engage the reader immediately: their efficiency is part of their power and to be efficient they have to enlist the reader's creative contribution almost from the first word. The greatest short stories are, page for page, probably the most powerful fiction it's possible to read, and most of the greatest short stories in English are American. In this course we read and discuss four or five short stories a week, by writers such as Kate Chopin, Flannery O'Connor, Ralph Ellison, Dashiell Hammett, James Baldwin, Ernest Hemingway, Nathanael West, and others. Generally, we come up with a syllabus together on the first day of class, reading stories that students really want to read, in all sorts of different genres, from psychological dramas to science fiction to mystery stories, to horror (think Poe) to adventure stories. They all have something in common: the reader's participation in orienting themselves in a world that we are therefore asked to help create, to collaborate in understanding and in caring about. Session: Session I Day: M, T, Th Time: 11:10am - 1:40pm Credit Hours: 4 Credits Course Format: Remote Learning Course for Summer 2024 Brandeis Graduation Requirement Fulfilled: HUM Enrollment Limit: 20 students Course Classification: Undergraduate Level Course Course Tuition: $3,700 Course Fees: None Open to High School Students: Yes |
