English 261-001
Introduction to Short Stories; American Short Stories
Instr: Kuhlman, Ben
Office: CRT 577; 229-5041
e-mail: bkuhlman@uwm.edu
Office hours: TBA
Course Information: MWF; 9-9:50; PHY 143
Course Description
In a cultural climate that emphasizes speed and efficiency to such a degree, short forms such as the "short story" should challenge the cultural (and market) dominance of the novel, right? Yet publishers tell us this is not the case. Why does this form continue to play "second fiddle" to the novel in U.S. culture? Why do many novelists also write in this form, despite the much larger (and much more remunerative) novel market?
This course will focus on the change and development of an unusually diverse literary form, the "short story" or "sketch" form. We will read a few "classic" authors to get our feet wet in the history of the form (Irving, Poe, Hawthorne, James); we will read some people who have tried to stretch or change the form (Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Zora Neale Hurston, Sarah Orne Jewett, Flannery O'Connor, James Baldwin, Sandra Cisneros), and we will focus on a few contemporaries who are doing interesting things with the form (Sherman Alexie, Alice Munro, Stephen King). I'd like to talk about how publishing markets have affected the form, as well as how these authors' particular goals (social and otherwise) have suited or not suited the form and its readers. I also hope to spend some time in class viewing and discussing how some of these stories have been adapted into film (as in Smoke Signals).
The focus of this class will be on discussion, and on students' interpretations of the readings. Some of the required coursework will involve Desire2Learn and/or e-mail posts to the class. I hope to keep the class informal, yet informative.
Questions? Please e-mail me at bkuhlman@uwm.edu.
