Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0226 - 20th C American Short Fiction

Studying selected short stories and short novels of major American fiction writers who span the beginning to the end of the twentieth century: Henry James, William Faulkner, Nathanael West, Flannery O'Connor, Katherine Anne Porter, Joyce Carol Oates, Z Z Packer and others, this course traces historical, cultural, and literary contexts and looks comparatively at distinctively American themes and modernist techniques such as unreliable narration, shifting points of view, black humor, grotesqueries, religious symbolism, apocalyptic transformations and other elements which complicate and enrich our reading of these works. Requirements of the course are: close and timely reading of assigned works; completion of on-line assignments, two papers, and a final paper/exam, along with spirited engagement in classroom discussion.

Writing and Research Multiple Cultural Perspectives Students are expected to spend 4 hours weekly in preparation and work outside of class time.