Manifesting Destinies: Modern American Short Fiction

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No previous knowledge of the subject is assumed.

Content of Course

This course provides a friendly introduction to short fiction from modern American writers. Using one particular collection, we will explore different themes and story types, plus look at different movements including minimalism, metafiction, dirty realism and works dealing with race and gender. Each week we will study a different story, backed up by supporting material. By the end of the course, students will have a wide understanding of the range in American short fiction writing.

The stories we will study are:

A Vintage Thunderbird by Ann Beattie

Cathedral by Raymond Carver

Fat Girl by Andre Dubus

Richard Ford by Rock Springs

A Romantic Weekend by Mary Gaitskill

Emergency by Denis Johnson

Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

Murderer by Leonard Michaels

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carl Oates

Helping by Robert Stone

Teaching method(s)

Discussion based with essay notes.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Discuss the stories with confidence, analysing its properties and using language that they feel comfortable adopting without simply falling into the opinionated.

Sources

Core Readings

Students are advised to wait until the course has been confirmed to run before purchasing any of the recommended books.

 

Essential:

• Woolf T (1994) The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories. Granta, London

Recommended:

• Mullan, J (2018) How Novels Work. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

• Wood, N. and Lodge, D. (2013) Modern Criticism and Theory: A Reader. 3rd edition. Harlow, England ; New York: Routledge.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.