LIT 2020: Introduction to the Short Story

Identity Through Love and Heartbreak

Fall 2013
Jose A. Aparicio
Instructor Information
Office: CPR 326
Office Hours: Hours: Tuesday 1:00-2:00, Wednesday 3:30-5:00 or by appointment.
Email: japaricio@mail.usf.edu
General Course Information
This is a 3 credit hour course. It carries no prerequisites. It is offered through the Department of English in
the School of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences. The course meets 6:20-9:05pm, Wednesday in
CPR 249.
Introduction to the Short Story is part of the University of South Floridas Foundation of Knowledge and
Learning Core Curriculum. It is a writing-intensive course that is certified for the Humanities core area and
for the following dimensions: Critical Thinking, Inquiry-Based Learning, Creative and Interpretive
Processes and Experience, Human Historical Contexts and Processes.
This is a Gordon-Rule 6A Communications course. Students in this course will engage in writing as a
process, which means employing strategies such as pre-writing, co-authoring, document design, peer
feedback, revising, and editing. Students will learn how to develop ideas and texts that follow
academic/disciplinary conventions for different contexts, audiences, and purposes. An integral part of
writing instruction is the opportunity to revise documents in response to feedback, so students will be
required to revise at least some course writing assignments (including one major assignment) after receiving
feedback from the instructor. At a minimum, students will write 4500 words for this course. Students must
achieve a proficiency level of at least C- in the course in order to receive Gordon Rule Communication
credit.
Students enrolled in this course may be asked to participate in the USF General Education Assessment
effort. This might involve submitting copies of writing assignments for review, responding to surveys, or
participating in other measurements designed to assess the FKL Core Curriculum Learning Outcomes.
Course Description
This course introduces students to the formal elements of the short story. Students will develop their skills
in textual analysis and interpretation as they learn the history of the genre and its interaction with its social
context. As they explore the creative process and develop an understanding of the genre, students will be
introduced to some of the major approaches to literary criticism and will acquire tools for reading and
writing critically about the techniques and significance of the short story. Students will be required to
interpret and engage with short fiction and criticism that reflect a range of human emotional, intellectual,
and cultural experience.
The novel tends to tell us everything whereas the short story tells us only one thing, and that,
intensely.It is, as some have said, a glimpse through, resembling a painting or even a song which we
can take in at once, yet bring the recesses and contours of larger experience to the mind.
--V.S. Pritchett
To understand what a short story is requires reading dozens and dozens of them []. By reading
many and varied examples, we develop an almost instinctive sense of what a short story is, so that when we

read one we recognize it, just as we recognize our own instincts and emotions. We know what a short story
is, just as we know what it is to be afraid, or to fall in love.
To really communicate the entirety of what a short story has given us, of what it has done for us, of
what it has helped us understand or see in a new way, would involve repeating the whole story, every one of
our favorite stories [].
--Francine Prose
We all draw our concrete ways of understanding and evaluating ourselves from the pool of
possible interpretations made accessible in the social context in which we find ourselves. But, at the same
time, we have the ability to shape an identity for ourselves by taking over those social interpretations in our
active lives and knitting them together into a unique life story.
--Charles Guignon, On Being Authentic
Course Theme:
Roland Barthes posits that, To try to write love is to confront the muck of language: that region of hysteria
where language is both too much and too little, excessive (by the limitless expansion of the ego, by emotive
submersion) and impoverished (by the codes on which love diminishes and levels it) (A Lovers
Discourse: Fragments, 99). This course will confront this muck by exploring the manner in which writers
have handled love, heartbreak, and other emotions through the short story. Additionally, in keeping with the
introductory nature of this course, we will selectively read short works of literature ranging across wide
historical, cultural, national, stylistic, thematic, gender/sexual, economic, and class spectrums. The primary,
or first-order, focus of this course will be to read, engage with, discuss, and write about genre-specific
elements of the short story and the short novel or novella. We, also, will explore, explicate, and question
notions of emotions and how emotions create community and how individual identities negotiate with
emotions. This second-order focus will lead us to an understanding of identity and emotions role in
forming those identities, as well as emotions role in interpreting the world we live in. Finally, we will use
the texts as a fulcrum to think about and discuss how we understand our own individual and collective
identities and to assist us in reflecting on our own notions of community, environment, moral responsibility,
creativity, aesthetics, identity, and existence. While the aforementioned notions will provide a significant
purview in which to frame the course content, by no means do I intend to limit or close-off discussions
involving other formidable topics like conceptions of the good life, the question of free will, issues
concerning commitment, gender, authenticity, the significance of death, and the loss of meaning in the
modern world.

Course Objectives
Students will investigate the formal elements of the short story such as plot, characterization, point of view,
setting, theme, and style, and their function in the creative process of producing a text.
Students will develop their own skills of literary analysis and interpretation, both in writing and orally and
will learn to construct oral and written arguments on the meaning and significance of the short story.
Students will become familiar with some of the major schools of literary criticism and learn how to apply
them.
Students will examine the history of the genre and how in different periods it reflects, understands, and
influences its social context.
Students will come to understand how literary texts can provide pathways for making moral decisions about
both moral responsibility and how to live an ethical life.
Students will learn how literary texts provide, critique, or express viable modes of existence.
Students will become so enthralled in the merits of literature that they will immediately pawn their
television and game consoles, using the money they get to buy dozens and dozens of books.
Students will learn how to read closely, with attention to texts use of diction, syntax, metaphor, style, and
language

Students will learn how to defend a critical judgment against the informed opinions of others
I follow David Foster Wallaces idea that, ultimately, the goal of any literature course is to give you the
tools to critically appreciate literary art. "Critical Appreciation" means knowing why you like or dislike
something and being able to articulate those reasons, especially in writing.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate knowledge of the formal elements of the short story through correct definitions of
these terms and through the correct use of them in analytical writing and oral exposition. (General
Education Core Objectives A3, B3, C1, D4).
Students will analyze and interpret short stories reflecting a range of human emotional, intellectual, and
cultural experiences, from authors of diverse historical periods and cultural contexts with attention to
gender, ethnicity, social class and global identities. (General Education Core Objectives A3, B3, C1, D1,
D3, D4).
Students will assess short fiction using appropriate critical values and will demonstrate an understanding of
the selected schools of literary criticism through their correct application. (General Education Core
Objectives A3, B3, C1, C2, C5).
In written analyses of fiction, students will demonstrate their understanding of the history of the genre and
its relationship to its social context in different periods. (General Education Core Objectives A1, A2, A3,
C2, C5).
General Course Requirements
The requirements for this course are designed to facilitate your understanding of the literary elements of the
short story as well as to prepare you to think and write about literature in a detailed manner. This course is
designed to be as enjoyable, interesting, and thought-provoking as possible, but the more you give to the
course (as is always the case), the more you will get out of it. This course will require you to reflect on your
readings with weekly short responses, reflect on the context of the text through group presentations, explore
characterization through Facebook posts as a character and, of course, requires you to write an extended
analysis of what you have read. Also, you will have the opportunity to lead the class in discussion on
whatever aspect of the story we have read The class will be mostly discussion based and rely on a good
amount of group work. In the classroom, we will try to foster the major themes of our texts by building a
community, so we will engage in many community (group) exercises and sharing of ideas, opinions, and
readings.
Required Texts
Charters, Ann. The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. 8th ed. New York: St.
Martin's, 2011. Print. Compact 8th edition. ISBN: 0-312-59624-3
Additional Materials and Resources:
Additional materials WILL be placed on Electronic or Course Reserve at the Library or on Canvas.
Students will be informed of reading selections that they will need to access and print out to complete the
assignments.
Students with Disabilities
Students in need of academic accommodations for a disability may consult with the office of Students with
Disabilities Services to arrange appropriate accommodations. Students are required to give reasonable
notice prior to requesting an accommodation. Contact SDS at 974-4309 or www.sds.usf.edu. For more
information about student responsibilities related to disability accommodations, see
http://www.asasd.usf.edu/Students.htm.

Academic Grievance Procedures

If a serious issue or conflict arises, the student should first make an attempt to reach a satisfactory resolution
with the course instructor. It the instructor and student are unable to resolve the situation to their mutual
satisfaction, the student may, within three weeks of the incident, file a letter of notification with Dr. Joyce
Karpay, the Assistant to the Chair of the English Department.
Academic Integrity
Students attending USF are awarded degrees in recognition of successful completion of coursework in their
chosen fields of study. Each individual is expected to earn his/her degree on the basis of personal effort.
Consequently, any form of cheating on examinations or plagiarism on assigned papers constitutes
unacceptable deceit and dishonesty. Plagiarism is defined as literary theft and consists of the unattributed
quotation of the exact words of a published text, or the unattributed borrowing of original ideas by
paraphrase from a published text. On written papers for which the student employs information gathered
from books, articles, web sites, or oral sources, each direct quotation, as well as ideas and facts that are not
generally known to the public at large, or the form, structure, or style of a secondary source must be
attributed to its author by means of the appropriate citation procedure. Only widely known facts and firsthand thoughts and observations original to the student do not require citations. Citations may be made in
footnotes or within the body of the text. Plagiarism also consists of passing off as ones own another
persons work in part or in total.
A student who submits a plagiarized assignment will receive an F with a numerical value of zero on the
assignment, and the F shall be used to determine the final course grade. The instructor has the right to
assign the student a grade of F or FF (the latter indicating dishonesty) in the course. An FF grade assigned
to indicate academic dishonesty is reflected only on internal records and prevents the student from repeating
the course using the Grade Forgiveness Policy. If a student who has been accused of academic dishonesty
drops the course, the students registration in the course may be reinstated until the issue is resolved. A
student who is suspected of cheating may not drop a course to avoid a penalty.
See http://www.usg.usf.edu/catalogs/0809/adadap.htm for USFs definitions of plagiarism and its policy on
academic honesty. Consult with me if you have any questions about these issues.
The University of South Florida has an account with an automated plagiarism detection service which
allows instructors to submit student assignments to be checked for plagiarism. I reserve the right to submit
assignments to this detection system. Assignments are compared automatically with a huge database of
journal articles, web articles, and previously submitted papers. The instructor receives a report showing
exactly how a students paper was plagiarized.
Attendance Policy
Attendance is mandatory. This is not a lecture class. Furthermore, you are required to be present a minimum
of 80% of the time, which in a class that meets once a week such as this one, means you are allowed 6
absences before you will be unable to pass the class. I cannot stress this enough: YOU WILL FAIL THE
COURSE IF YOU MISS 7 (seven) DAYS.
Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of a major religious
observance must provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second-class meeting.
Should an examination or the due date for an assignment fall on one of these dates, I will make
arrangements with you for a make-up exam or an alternate date for submission of written work. Aside from
these extenuating circumstances, I do not make a distinction between excused and unexcused absences. You
are allowed to miss three days for whatever reason you want without having to explain it to me, but if you
are not here, then you are not learning.

Grading Policy
You will be able to access your grades on canvas throughout the semester. You will be graded on a point
system where you earn points towards your grade. At the end of the term, all points in the course (1,000
points total) will be added up and grades will be distributed as follows: A+ (960-1000), A (930-959), A(900-929), B+ (860-899), B (830-859), B- (800-829), C+ (760- 799), C (730-759), C- (700-729), D+ (660699), D (630-659), D- (600-629), F (599 and below).
Participation/class work...200 points
Reflections (10 post x 20 points each).200 points
Group work/presentation. 200 points
Pop Quizzes..100 points
Mid-term essay.100 points
Final paper200 points
Total.1000points
Incomplete Grade Policy:
You are required to do every last iota of the reading and writing assigned, exactly in the format
requested, and it needs to be totally done by the time class starts. There is no falling behind in this
course. A grade of I will be awarded only in the case of a medical or family emergency and, in
conjunction with University policy, only when a small portion of the students work is incomplete and only
when the student is otherwise earning a passing grade.
Students may not take this course S/U.
Participation (200 points)
This class is yours, and our class will grow out of your own experiences with love and heartbreak and with
how emotions help to shape our lives, which mirrors the manner in which emotions help characters shape
plots; therefore, this class requires that you participate in sharing your thoughts and ideas. Note that
participation counts as much as your final paper. If everyone is prepared for class, then we can have a
classroom environment in which all students feel totally free to say what they think, ask questions, object,
criticize, request clarification, return to previous subject matter, respond to someone else's response, etc.
Students who are clinically shy, or those whose best, most pressing questions and comments occur to them
only in private or outside of class, should do their discussing with me outside of class during office hours or
set up an appointment. Your ideas are goodtrust me. Dont be afraid to voice them or to use class
discussion to think out ideas. Dont be afraid to ask the class questionsquestions are always welcomed
since they usually spark great discussions.
Discussing texts will help you love them better, and will help your classmates and me to understand them
better, and will help you in general become more skilled at articulating yourself verbally and constructing
verbal arguments. Students will be evaluated over the course of the semester. At the end of the semester,
the evaluations and the overall performance are considered in terms of improvement or change.
Here is a very general idea of a range of performance evaluations:
C-/C: Student contributes (rarely), but comments show weak or no preparation or understanding of topic
C+/B-/B: Comments show satisfactory or adequate preparation and understanding
B+/A-: Comments show above-average ability to prepare, comprehend; comments are critical or
informative; comments are pertinent to the topic or advance the topic
A/A+: Comments significantly enhance or advance the topic of discussion
Don't hold back if you have something to offer or ask; active participation is desirable.

 Good or excellent contributions are clear, pertinent, coherent, well-phrased, interesting, informative, or
connect or advance ideas expressed by others, or pose thoughtful or insightful questions.
Good contributions usually reveal that the student is engaged in the subject (beyond basically reading the
assignment) and has devoted some reflection or even investigation prior to the class discussion.
Showing appreciation and respect for peers is part of participating well and contributing to a supportive
academic setting.
Improvement: students showing marked change in performance will see that reflected in the final grade.
Thus, careful preparation, regular attendance, and participation are essential to success in this course.
Attendance/participation not only counts for 15% of your final grade, but also enhances all other grade
components.
Reflection papers (200 points):
To prepare for class each week, you are to write a 300 to 500 word (one to two page) reflection on any
aspect of the literature that we will be discussing that day. These essays are, yes, to make sure you are
reading and keeping up, but more importantly, to get you thinking about the literature. These papers can be
used as springboards for your major essays and are due as you walk in the day of class. The papers should
focus on a specific topic, such as gender, race, class, or a specific literary convention, such as metaphor,
foreshadowing, personification, etc.. The reflection should have a main focus (not necessarily a thesis,
which is also fine, but with only 500 words, the papers should really narrow what they discuss). If you have
trouble coming up with something to write, I suggest you pick what you find to be the most important line
from the text and write about it. I will grade these papers and hand them back to you, but you are welcomed
to be creative and take interpretive risk here. I will grade these papers in terms of quality of thought and
creativity and less on grammar, and they will help me get to know you as a writer, and for you to get to
know me as a reader/grader.
Aside from the grade for the essay, these reflections should be used by you to participate in class
discussion. If you dont know what to say during class discussion, tell us what you wrote about and why.
Character Study: Facebook Page and Interpretive Analysis (100 points)
By the second week of the semester, all students will choose a character (a list of approved characters will
be provided) and begin setting up a Facebook page for that character. Each student should plan, design, and
create a profile page with all of their characters pertinent information, such as relationship status, political
views, religious views, and likes that reflect the character. The page should also include at least four to
five status updates that reflect the characters personality, thoughts, concerns, and/or conflicts. Be creative
here and have fun. The posts and other design elements should cohere as a whole, however, so that they
collectively represent the character. Each student will present (aim for no more than five minutes) his/her
Facebook character page on a day that we discuss those characters.
Students will be advised to create an account just for this project, however, and will not use their personal
Facebook pages for this work. Students should also indicate that their page is work for a course and
maintain academic standards on the page. Students should not use their real name to sign up for the account
necessary to complete this project; nor should students post their real name anywhere on their page. Use a
pseudonym.
All students will also write a 750-word interpretive analysis paper for their chosen character. The
paper should describe and interpret the effectiveness of characterizationas relevant to your characterin
the short story. For example, in your view, how does Fitzgeralds characterization of Jay Gatsby contribute
to the narratives meaning or theme? Does the characterization help us to identity or sympathize with
Gatsby? Where and how do we see evidence of Gatsbys characterization within the story: through his

stories he tells Nick, through his dialogue with other characters, through dialogue that other characters have
about him? Your interpretation of how this part (characterization) contributes to the whole (the short story)
will form the basis of your thesis statement.
For Evidence, the interpretive analysis paper should reference both the story and your Facebook page. For
example, you might consider how Fitzgeralds characterization of Gatsby functions within the narrative.
How did you take that information into account when you designed your characters Facebook Page? Why
did you choose particular images, and how did you determine what to write for your characters status
updates?
In most instances, the characters choices move the story according their emotions, feelings, beliefs, and
reveal character motivation, so the Facebook page and interpretive analysis will help you think about the
centrality of characterization in narrative.
Group Presentations (200 points):
Each student will participate in a 20-minute group presentation that will look at historical and artistic
context for each text. Groups should look at how different artistic movements, philosophic thought, literary
movement, and historical context influences and affects the text and are encouraged to address any other
aspect of the text the group feels important.
Presentations should be well thought out, thorough, and related to our context and literature. Presentations
should be engaging power-point (or prezi) presentations that include outside knowledge. Each group
will turn in a page summary describing the project, the rationale for the information presented and each
members contribution to the project. The presentation should not give a character analysis or a plot
synopsis or merely present author biography (a short mention, if important, of the authors biography is
fine, but I dont want 20 minutes of some writers life presented), but rather should engage the class with
issues outside the actual text that are nonetheless informing the text. Think of your presentation in the
following manner: What do you want to know about a text that is interesting? Would you enjoy sitting
through your 20 minute presentation?
Your peers, who have to sit through it, will grade this assignment. While I have final say for the final grade
of the presentation (taking into account the written portion), your peers will each turn in a filled out rubric
evaluating the effectiveness of the presentation. We will discuss these criteria as a class before the first
group has to present.
Pop Quizzes (4 x 25points= 100points total):
Four pop quizzes will be given throughout the semester at random times. The quizzes will cover anything
that has been covered in class up to the point of the quiz. Hopefully, these quizzes will be good motivation
to keep up with your readings.
Analysis (Mid-Term (100 points) and Final (200 points) each, for a total of 300 points of grade) Paper
(Learning Outcomes Assignment)
Each student will be required to write two 1,000-1,500 word count papers, which analyze any two works
of literature presented over the course of the semester. The paper should use the secondary readings we
have covered in class for support as well as TWO peer-reviewed, scholarly articles.
Students will write an essay exploring a social issue or cultural theme in two works of fiction, showing an
awareness of a possible range of interpretations. The paper must make appropriate use of relevant critical
perspectives and formal literary terms. Students will receive my comments on a rough draft of at least 750
words. Using those comments, students will revise the paper and submit a final draft of at least 1,000

words. You will use MLA-style documentation and formatting in your papers. It is students' responsibility
to take the necessary time to acquire use of this style; I am happy to help you inside and outside of class and
will dedicate a class to go over this style.
10 points of your long paper assignments will be self-evaluations/reflections on your writing. The selfreflection will be posted to blackboard the day before the essay is due.
Papers are due at the beginning of class on the due date; they are to be submitted both as a hard copy to me
and as an electronic text to Turn it In on Canvas.
Late submissions of assignments will suffer a ten-point deduction for every class period they are late, so in
this once a week course, if the paper is due Wednesday, and you dont turn it in until the next Wednesday,
then you grade will drop by ten points. Assignments submitted more than two weeks late will generally not
be accepted.
Take the time to proofread your papers, and feel free to come and show me rough drafts.
Writing Center:
USF's Writing Center (http://guides.lib.usf.edu/writing) offers assistance to any student who wants to
improve his or her writing skills. Rather than offering editing assistance, during a session in the Writing
Center consultants and students work together to enhance the organization, development, grammar, and
style of any type of writing across the disciplines. Students are encouraged to visit the Writing Center at any
stage during the writing process, from brainstorming and pre-writing to final polishing.
The USF Writing Center is conveniently located in the Library Learning Commons. Walk-ins are welcome
dependent on availability, but students are encouraged to make an appointment by visiting the Writing
Center during office hours or setting up an appointment online. The phone number is 813-974-8293
Communication:
If you are not clear about an assignment or have any concerns about the class, please feel free to contact me.
The best way to do so is through e-mail or during office hours. You dont need to make an appointment, but
it will guarantee that I am in my office and available if you do, so you dont have to wait. Come see me and
I will help you in any way I can or direct you to someone who can help. Also, you dont have to have a
problem to drop by. We can discuss the stuff we are reading, your paper, or anything else you feel will be
helpful. My door is always opened (when Im there).
Also, remember that if you would like some extra help, not only am I available but you can also go to the
Writing Center located in the library.
The Sorry, Im a slacker Clause:
I understand how busy life can get; I also understand procrastination and turning in work that you wish you
had more time to polish; therefore, I will allow you to re-write and turn in any REFLECTION or either of
the two ESSAY assignments, if you provide an excuse that entertains me and turn in the revision within
TWO WEEKS of the receiving the grade you wish to revise (I have specific revision criteria for the essay
assignments that will be posted on Canvas). This clause is also here for all those students who want to write
me an e-mail at the end of the semester to let me know how But Professor, I have a scholarship/internship
that requires me to maintain a 4.0 and I have 880 points, can I do anything to get the 20 extra points to get
an A minus? or the Please, I need a 4.0 to get into grad school/nursing school/law school, etcMy
answer is Yes, you can do somethingyou can revise your essay DURING the semester for a better grade.
But save the you are so unfair for not giving me these extra points I need e-mails. Also, you need to have
COMPLETED an assignment in order to revise it for a better grade. If you get a poor grade for not turning
in an assignment or turning it in late, then you cannot revise it.

Tentative Schedule:
I reserve the right to change the schedule to reflect the needs of the class as the semester progresses.
Week 1: August 28:
Syllabus and Introduction;
Discuss assignments and set up groups.
Discussion on love, heartbreak, and emotions, supplemented with videos.
Discuss: Modernism/ Postmodernism and identity.
Watch: Un Chien Andalou; discuss interpretation
Homework:
Read e-book linked on Canvas: Peter Childs Modernism and introduction to postmodernism: during
your reading, pay particular attention to how Modernism is conceptualized, defined, and characterized
and to how each individual covered in-depth in Chapter 1 (Marx, Darwin, Freud, Nietzsche, Saussure, and
Einstein) influenced Modernism. Then think about these ideas in conjunction with Postmodernism (links
and information on Postmodernism are posted on Canvas): what stayed the same, what changed, how did
these thinkers influence postmodernism? Tuesdays class session will require you to be able to identify
key passages from the text that highlight your understanding of Modernism and its development into
postmodernism. Think about the videos and our discussion from class and think about how the major
figures in Modernism and Postmodernism influence our conception of identity and love and heartbreak.
These ideas will be our point of departure to think about identity and emotions.
Read: Charters- appendix- The Elements of Fiction
Look over the syllabus and begin to think about what authors and characters you want to sign up for.

Week 2: September 4:
Lecture and Discussion of readings.
Discuss Response notes
PowerPoint discussion of Elements of Fiction
Read Margaret Atwood, Happy Endings- apply reading
Homework:
Read: Jonathan Safran Foer: Cravings and A PRIMER FOR THE PUNCTUATION OF
HEART DISEASE- and Dave Eggers Types of Pain, Their Duration and Intentions -- posted on
Canvas.
Read: Charters introduction What is a Short Story? and Reading Short Stories.
Response Note One on one of the homework readings due before we meet for next class.
Finalize characters and groups for next class.

Week 3: September 11:

Discuss readings (Foer and Eggers)
Review Character pages
Review Group presentations
Group activity on close reading.
Homework:
Group one: prepare for presentation on: Ernst Hemingway
Read: in Charters: Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants
Read On Canvas: The Doctor and the Doctors Wife and A Clean Well-Lighted Place
Facebook characters should be ready to present next class.
Response Note Two due before next class
Week 4: September 18:
Hemingway presentation
Facebook Character presentation
Discuss Hemingway stories.
Homework:
Group two: prepare for James Joyce presentation
Read in Chaters: James Joyce Araby and The Dead
Facebook characters should be ready to present next class.
Response Note Three due before next class
Week 5: September 25:
Joyce Presentation
Facebook Character presentation
Discuss Joyce
Homework:
Group Three: prepare Ana Meendez
Read (all on-line): In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd and Perfect Fruit and The Party
Facebook characters should be ready to present next class.
Response Note four due before next class

10

Week 6: October 2:
Meendez presentation
Facebook presentation
Discuss Menendez.
Homework:
Raymond Carver Group next class
Read in Charters: Carvers What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and A Small, Good
Thing
Facebook Characters presentation
Response note five due next class
Week 7: October 9:
Library DayDetails will be distributed as available.
Homework:
Read in Charters: Writing about Short Stories
Review Carver for next class.
Response note Five (on Carvers stories) due before next class.
Week 8: October 16:
Carver presentation
Facebook character presentation
Discuss Carver
Discuss essays and peer review
Homework:
WRITE A 800-1000 word rough draft for next class
Print up two copies and bring them to class with two copies of the Peer Review Sheet
Sign up for one-on-one conferences. (We will discuss your papers, in detail, during our conference).
Week 9: October 23:
Discuss essay writing
Conduct peer review.
Homework:
Write Final Draftturn it in to Turn-it-in on canvas AND bring a final hard copy to class.
Week 10: October 30:
Turn in Final Draft of essay one.

11

Watch and discuss short films and relation to short stories

Conduct group reading exercise
Homework:
Junot Diaz group prepare
Read in Charters: Diazs How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie
Other selections to be announced.
Facebook character pages
Response note Six due before next class.
Week 11: November 6:
Diaz presentation
Facebook presentation
Discuss Diaz
Homework:
Kate Chopin groups and characters prepare
Read in Charters: Chopins The Story of an Hour and Dsires Baby and Amy Tan, In the Canon, For
All the Wrong Reasons
Response Note Seven due next class
Week 12 November 13:
Chopin group and facebook presentations
Discuss Chopin
Homework:
Flanner OConner group prepare
Facebook Characters prepare
Read in Charters: OConners Everything That Rises Must Converge and A Good Man Is Hard To Find
Response note eight due next class
Week 13: November 20:
OConnor day
Group- facebook--discuss
Homework:
Franz Kafka group and facebook
Read in Charters: Kafkas The Hunger Artist
Response note nine due next class.

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Week 14: November 27:

Kafka presentation and facebook page
Discuss Kafka
Discuss final paper
Class votes on final stories to read and respond to
Homework:
Read story the class voted on and write tenth and final response note
Write rough draft of second essay
Week 15: December 4:
Discuss final story
Peer review
Homework
Finish final essay and turn it in by Tuesday December 10th by 7:00 pm to my office.
Week 16: December 10:
Turn in final paper.

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