LARTS 353 The Short Story
The short story is a shared experience—an epiphany, a moment in time that changes one’s understanding of self and world, both for the characters in the story and their readers. This course will examine the historical development of the genre, its traditional and innovative narrative techniques, its various ways of constructing point of view, and its range of styles. We will also be interested in reflecting on how the stories speak to us as individuals, whose experiences are the stuff of stories. Readings will be drawn from masters of the genre such as Chekhov, Tolstoy, Poe, Melville, Kafka, and Joyce, as well as from many contemporary authors.