ENGL 173 - Thinking Short: The Art of the Short Story

0.5 unit(s)

In his essay, “The Storyteller,” Walter Benjamin made this claim: “A story is different: it does not use itself up. It preserves its inherent power, which it can then deploy over a long period of time.” This six-week course explores the short story form—a relatively new literary genre—drawing from seminal texts while also exploring the questions: What is the function of storytelling in the digital age? Can we continue to imagine stories in an age of instant expression? What is the evolutionary function of story? What is essential about storytelling—from, for example, Kendrick Lamar’s “Duckworth” to the bingeable Netflix series? Readings might include stories by Anton Chekhov, Franz Kafka, James Joyce, Katherine Mansfield, Clarice Lispector, Alice Munro, Gayl Jones, Henry Dumas, Gish Jen, Bryan Washington, Lucia Berlin, and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. David Means.

Second six-week course.

Two 75-minute periods.

Not offered in 2021/22.

Course Format: CLS