ENG 304: American Short Story

Course Description

This course will focus on an intensive study of the American short story. The reading ranges from works by Washington Irving, Hawthorne, and Poe, to contemporary writers like Annie Proulx, Edwidge Danticat, Mary Gaitskill, and Tim O'Brien. Many other major American authors will also be studied, including Twain, Chopin, Cather, Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Baldwin, and Carver. The course will consider a variety of cultures and viewpoints but will stress the uniquely American nature of the readings. Criticism and commentary by some of the authors will also be considered. (3 credits)

Prerequisites

  • ENG 101: English Composition 1
  • ENG 102: English Composition 2

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the basic elements of American short fiction, including plot, character, theme, symbolism, irony, and setting
  2. Write about literature in a meaningful, thoughtful way, carefully examining the intent of the authors as well as the interpretations made by readers
  3. Articulate a vision of American life as seen through the eyes of the authors studied in the course
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of traditions and themes in American literature
  5. Demonstrate a basic understanding of literary criticism
  6. Explain how the arts, and short fiction in particular, helped to shape American society

General Education Outcomes (GEOs)

Please check the applicable GEOs for this course, if any, by outcomes at GEO Discipline Search.

Course Activities and Grading

AssignmentsWeight

Essay #1

20%

Essay #2

20%

Participation in Weekly Discussion Boards

30%

Comprehensive Final Exam

30%

Total

100%

Required Textbooks

Available through Charter Oak’s online bookstore

  • Charters, Ann. Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. 10th ed. Bedford Books, 2019. ISBN-10: 1319105602 or ISBN-13: 9781319105600

Course Schedule

Week

SLOs

Readings and Exercises

Assignments

1

1-6

Module 1: Precursors of the American Short Story & The Early Nineteenth Century: 1819 - 1860

  • Readings:
    • Washington Irving, "Rip Van Winkle”
    • Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown”
    • Edgar Allen Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado”
    • Lydia Maria Child, "Slavery’s Pleasant Homes (Not in textbook, available online.)
    • Herman Melville, "Bartleby, the Scrivener"
  • Read assigned material
  • Participate in Discussions

2

1-6

Module 2: The Late Nineteenth Century: 1861 - 1899

  • Readings:
    • Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”
    • Mark Twain, Private History of the “Jumping Frog” Story
    • Bret Harte, "The Luck of Roaring Camp" (Not in textbook, available online.)
    • Ambrose Bierce, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
    • Sarah Orne Jewett, "A White Heron”
    • Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wallpaper”
    • Gilman Casebook
  • Read assigned material
  • Participate in Discussions

3

1-6

Module 2: The Late Nineteenth Century: 1861 - 1899 (cont.)

  • Readings:
    • Willa Cather, “Neighbour Rosicky”  (Not in textbook, available online.)
    • Kate Chopin, “Desiree’s Baby.” “The Story of an Hour”
    • Charles W. Chesnutt, "The Wife of His Youth” (Not in textbook, available online.)
    • Stephen Crane, "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” (Not in textbook, available online.)
  • Read assigned material
  • Participate in Discussions
  • Essay #1 Due

4

1-6

Module 3: The Early Twentieth Century: 1900 - 1940

  • Readings:
    • Edith Wharton, "The Other Two," (Not in textbook, available online.)
    • Sherwood Anderson, "Hands”
    • Zora Neale Hurston, “The Gilded Six-Bits,” “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,"; “What White Publishers Won’t Print”
  • Read assigned material
  • Participate in Discussions

5

1-6

Module 3: The Early Twentieth Century: 1900 - 1940 (cont.)

  • Readings:
    • William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily,” “The Meaning of ‘A Rose for Emily,"
    • John Steinbeck “The Chrysanthemums”
    • F. Scott Fitzgerald, "Winter Dreams"
    • Ernest Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants”
  • Read assigned material
  • Participate in Discussions

6

1-6

Module 4: Mid-Twentieth Century

  • Readings:
    • Shirley Jackson, "The Lottery," "The Morning of June 28, 1948, and ‘The Lottery’"
    • Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
    • James Baldwin, "Sonny’s Blues
    • Philip Roth, "The Conversion of the Jews"
  • Read assigned material
  • Participate in Discussions
  • Essay #2 Due

7

1-6

Module 5: Mid-Twentieth Century (cont.)

  • Readings:
    • John Updike, “A & P”
    • Kurt Vonnegut, "Harrison Bergeron"
    • Tillie Olsen, "I Stand Here Ironing"
    • Richard Wright, "The Man Who Was Almost A Man"
    • John Cheever, "The Swimmer”
  • Read assigned material
  • Participate in Discussions

8

1-6

Module 5: Late Twentieth Century: 1966 - Present

  • Readings:
    • Ursula K. Le Guin “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”
    • Toni Cade Bambera “The Lesson”
    • Alice Walker, "Everyday Use”
    • Tim O’Brien, "The Things They Carried"
    • Amy Tan, “Two Kinds”
    • Jhumpa Lahiri, “Interpreter of Maladies”
  • Read assigned material
  • Participate in Discussions
  • Final Exam Due
Final Exam
SLOs 1-6

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.