Anoka Ramsey Community College -- Coon Rapids Campus
English 2204: Short Stories
Summer 2008 / Section 01

Tentative Schedule

Key:

• TAOTSS = The Art of the Short Story, edited by Dana Gioia and R. S. Gwynn

• FFF = Flash Fiction Forward, edited by James Thomas and Robert Shapard

Note: For every author and story assigned in TAOTSS, also read that author's biography and perspective.

Tuesday, June 3 -- Introduction to the Course

• Syllabus and Schedule
• Participant Information Sheet and Introductions
• Lecture -- The History of the Short Story
• Lecture -- The Elements of Fiction
• TAOTSS -- Kate Chopin -- "The Story of an Hour" (157-158)
• FFF -- Hannah Bottomy -- "Currents" (51-52)
• Writing Assignments and Samples

Thursday, June 5 -- "Infidelity is a No-No, Right?"

• TAOTSS -- Kate Chopin -- "The Storm" (153-156)
• TAOTSS -- Anton Chekhov -- "The Lady with the Pet Dog" (135-147)
• TAOTSS -- The Art of the Short Story (3-6) -- skim
• TAOTSS -- The Elements of Short Fiction (849-862) -- skim
• TAOTSS -- Critical Approaches to Literature (878-879)
• TAOTSS -- Reader-Response Criticism (897-898)
• FFF -- Etgar Keret -- "Crazy Glue" (149-151)
• FFF -- Editors' Note (11-14)

Friday, June 6 -- The Last Day to Drop for 100% Refund

Tuesday, June 10 -- "Unfortunately, Death and Misery"

• TAOTSS -- Anton Chekhov -- "Misery" (147-151)
• TAOTSS -- Raymond Carver -- "A Small Good Thing" (88-104)
• TAOTSS -- Biographical Criticism (881-884)
• FFF -- Ann Hood -- "The Doctor" (146-148)

Thursday, June 12 -- "I've Had a Revelation!"

• TAOTSS -- Raymond Carver -- "Cathedral" (77-87)
• TAOTSS -- Flannery O'Connor -- "Revelation" (689-704)
• TAOTSS -- Formalist Criticism (879)
• FFF -- Dave Eggers -- "Accident" (101-102)
• FFF -- Barbara Jacksha -- "Geometry Can Fail Us" (139-140)

Tuesday, June 17 -- "It's Madness, I Tell You!"

• TAOTSS -- Edgar Allan Poe -- "The Tell-Tale Heart" (721-725)
• TAOTSS -- Charlotte Perkins Gilman -- "The Yellow Wallpaper" (297-308)
• TAOTSS -- Psychological Criticism (887-889)
• FFF -- Stace Budzko -- "How to Set a House on Fire" (46-47)
• FFF -- Jack Handey -- "The Voices in My Head" (85-87)
• FFF -- Patricia Marx -- "Pledge Drive" (152-154)

Thursday, June 19 -- "Sibling Rivalries?"

• TAOTSS -- Edgar Allan Poe -- "The Fall of the House of Usher" (708-721)
• TAOTSS -- Alice Walker -- "Everyday Use" (810-816)
• TAOTSS -- Gender Criticism (895-897)
• FFF -- Ray Gonzalez -- "The Jalapeno Contest" (48-50)

Tuesday, June 24 -- THE MIDTERM EXAM

• Brief Discussion about the Critical Essay and Q&A
• Midterm In-Class Exam (one hour)
• Assignment -- Draft the Critical Essay and Print Four (4) Copies

Thursday, June 26 -- THE PEER REVIEW

• Check In Drafts, Decide on Groups, and Review the Peer Review Process
• Peer Review for the Critical Essay -- Bring Four (4) Copies of a Complete Draft
• Discussion and Q&A about the Critical Essay
• Assignment -- Revise, Edit, and Proofread the Critical Essay
• Assignment -- Read the Stories Listed for 7/1

Tuesday, July 1 -- "Ah, to be at Work"

• Final Draft of Critical Essay Due
• TAOTSS -- Ernest Hemingway -- "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" (372-375)
• TAOTSS -- Sociological Criticism (892-893)
• FFF -- Don Shea -- "Jumper Down" (17-19)
• FFF -- Carolyn Forde -- "Sashimi Cashmere" (22-23)
• FFF -- Peter Mehlman -- "Mandela Was Late" (36-39)
• FFF -- Andrew McCuaig -- "The Wallet" (130-132)
• FFF -- Jim Crace -- "21" (137-138)

Thursday, July 3 -- NO CLASS -- The 4th of July Break

• Assignment -- Read Jon Hassler's novel, Staggerford

Tuesday, July 8 -- "A Week in the Life of Miles Pruitt"

• Discuss Jon Hassler's novel, Staggerford

Thursday, July 10 -- "Different Forms for Different Norms"

• TAOTSS -- Margaret Atwood -- "Happy Endings" (22-24)
• FFF -- John Edgar Wideman -- "Stories" (9-10)
• FFF -- G. A. Ingersoll -- "Test" (189-193)
• FFF -- Opal Palmer Adisa -- "Fruit Series" (202-204)
• FFF -- Michael Martone -- "Diagnostic Drift" (218-220)
• FFF -- J. David Stevens -- "The Death of the Short Story" (226-227)

Friday, July 11 -- The Last Day to Withdraw

Tuesday, July 15 -- "The War is Very Much with Us"

• TAOTSS -- Ha Jin -- "Saboteur" (419-427)
• TAOTSS -- Yukio Mishima -- "Patriotism" (629-646)
• FFF -- Bruce Holland Rogers -- "Three Soldiers" (210-211)

Thursday, July 17 -- "Culture Clashes"

• TAOTSS -- Chinua Achebe -- "Dead Men's Path" (10-12)
• TAOTSS -- Leslie Marmon Silko -- "The Man to Send Rain Clouds" (739-742)
• TAOTSS -- Historical Criticism (884-885)
• TAOTSS -- Cultural Studies Criticism (901-902)
• FFF -- Paul Theroux -- "The Memory Priest of the Creech People" (20-21)
• FFF -- Chrystos -- "Traditional Style Indian Garage" (42-45)
• FFF -- Luigi Malerba -- "Consuming the View" (59-61)
• FFF -- John A. McCaffrey -- "Words" (118-120)
• FFF -- John Leary -- "What I Know of Your Country" (178-180)

Tuesday, July 22, 2007 -- "Young Rebels Without a Cause?"

• TAOTSS -- Willa Cather -- "Paul's Case" (107-121)
• TAOTSS -- Alice Munro -- "How I Met My Husband" (649-661)
• TAOTSS -- Mythological Criticism (890)
• FFF -- Cynthia Anderson -- "Baker's Helper" (31-33)
• FFF -- Samantha Schoech -- "Why  You Shouldn't Have Gone in the First Place" (90-92)

Thursday, July 24 -- PRESENTATIONS AND THE FINAL EXAM

• Presentations
• Final In-Class Exam (one hour)
• Course Evaluations

Copyright © 2008 Scott R. Stankey / All Rights Reserved
Last revised on 21 May 2008 by SRS
Please address comments to scott.stankey@anokaramsey.edu