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Literature and Theatre

Reckless Brevity: The International Short Story (Online)

Course Times & Enrolment

Tuesdays from 22nd April 2025 (Code LI336-301) Add to Basket Tuesdays from
22nd April 2025 2:00pm - 4:00pm • (10 classes) Online • Tutor: Anthony McKibbin BA
£195.00 Concessions and discounts

Course Summary

A short story can be a slice of life, but it can also hint at what Milan Kundera calls ‘the existential enquiry’. It can provide the writer with an opportunity of offering not just a slice but a portion that can hint at so much more. Each week we will concentrate on a story by a major writer of the last century, how they bite off more than most stories chew on and how they achieve the “reckless brevity” one critic proposed when commenting on Kundera's work. 

Course Details

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No previous knowledge of the subject needed. Previous students on this course will enjoy returning to study the new titles. 

Students will need to be able to confidently use videoconferencing software and be comfortable with using websites.

Special Information

In order to participate in this course, you will need access to a computer with a speaker, microphone and an internet connection.

Content of Course

This course provides students with the opportunity to take a close look at the short story form. We will explore how writers from across the world address the possibilities available in condensed narratives. We will observe how writers develop themes, offer surprises and create characters, in a course that will rely heavily on student participation. 

Teaching method(s)

Lecture based with class discussion and group work. This course will be taught through a combination of available materials and live online sessions.  

Learning outcomes

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

  • Identify the styles of different short story writers;

  • Discuss their individual approaches;

  • Distinguish between different short story writers’ styles and interests;

  • Explain the significance of the contemporary short story even if it seems to ‘lack’ many of the storytelling skills of the classically told tale.

Sources

Core Readings

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

Essential:

  • Halpern, D.  (2000) The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories. London: Penguin.

We will be reading:

  • The Glass Tower by Reinaldo Arenas

  • The Old Man Slave and the Mastiff by Patrick Chamoiseau

  • The House Behind by Lydia Davis

  • Roberto Narrates by Peter Esterházy

  • Remember Young Cecil by James Kelman

  • Wish by Bobbie Ann Mason

  • The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami

  • Where the Jackals Howl by Amos Oz

  • Africa Kills Her Sun by Ken Saro-Wiwa

  • A Riddle by Antonio Tabucchi

Recommended:

  • Wood, J. (2008). How Fiction Works. London: Vintage

  • Leitch, V. B. (2001) The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. London: Norton

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email 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.