Faculty First Year Seminars 191TEF2 - Particular Potency: Contempora

Contemporary short fiction provides a striking opportunity for readers to reflect upon, deepen, and see in prismatic clarity ourselves and our time. It also has the potential to haunt, inspire, challenge, and amuse us. In this class, we will critically analyze a broad scope of short stories from a diversity of perspectives. We will discuss such concepts as character, setting, plot, irreality, estrangement, mood, difficulty, and the politics of representation. We will read about hitchhiking gone awry, the commands given to young women, racial tension between brownie troops, a one-night stand in Detroit, a goldfish that knows far more about life than one might think, and more. Most importantly, we will analyze the particular beauty, clarity, and truth present in the assigned readings, in the hope that the lessons learned will redound to our advantage in our own writing. We will also discuss and practice valuable learning strategies that will help you throughout your time here at UMass Amherst. At the end of the semester, you will write a short story, and it will be good.

Freshmen Only