Modern & Contemporary International Short Fiction

Modern & Contemporary International Short Fiction (EL911-2B)

In 2008 the head of the Nobel committee for literature declared that the Nobel Prize would not be awarded to an American author because, “The U.S. is too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialogue of literature.”

In this course, students will engage in the big dialogue of literature with an intensity and depth rarely available in a high school setting. Reading short works from five continents, translated from several languages, students will gain a familiarity with approaches to literature undertaken by international authors: from social realism to modern fairy tales, from satire to existential meditation. These approaches will be the jumping off point for students, providing insight not only into international politics and culture, but also into the heritage and consciousness of an array of peoples.

Students will be asked to research authors, placing them in their cultural and historical context, and presenting their findings to their classmates, as one is required to in a university seminar. Students will also be asked to produce several response essays, emphasizing economical critical writing crucial to success in college. Further, in order to better understand these fictions students will engage with them creatively, writing their own extremely short stories in the forms set forth in the readings.

Texts: 1001 Great Stories, volume 1 1001 Great Stories, volume 2