ENGL 481-502 (Spring 2002)
The British Short Story

NOTE: This course is normally offered as ENGL 394
TR 9:35am-10:50am, Blocker 109

Professor: J. Lawrence Mitchell

Office: Blocker 227
Hours: After class or by appointment
Phone: 845-3890
Email: j-mitchell@tamu.edu

[FORSTER, E.M.] [HARDY, THOMAS] [JOYCE, JAMES] [LAWRENCE, D.H.]

Texts:

  • Thomas Hardy, The Distracted Preacher and Other Tales (Viking)
  • James Joyce, Dubliners (Penguin/Viking Critical Edition)
  • D. H. Lawrence, Selected Short Stories (Modern Library)
  • Katherine Mansfield, Stories (Vintage)
  • Virginia Woolf, The Complete Shorter Fiction (Harvest)
  • Selection of stories available at Notes N' Quotes. Includes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Rhys Davies, Eric Linklater, Muriel Spark, R.L. Stevenson, William Trevor, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Angus Wilson, H. G. Wells, Malachi Whitaker, etc.

Requirements:

  1. Timely preparation of reading assignments and active participation in class discussion (10%)
  2. Mid-semester exam (25%) [March 5, 2002]
  3. Five one-page critiques (25%) [must be one week apart through April 18, 2002]
  4. Substantial research paper based upon comprehensive reading of one or two of five major authors listed above (40%) [Due date: April 25, 2002]

Course Description:

    An essentially (but not exclusively) historical examination of some 'major' and 'minor' practitioners of short fiction in Britain, with representative stories by Scots, Irish, and Welsh writers. Special attention to differences in language, style, and technique. Students will be expected to draw upon relevant autobiographical, biographical, and historical materials (diaries, letters, memoirs, etc.) wherever possible, as well as upon available critical studies.
[MANSFIELD, KATHERINE] [POWYS, T.F.] [WELLS, H.G.] [WOOLF, VIRGINIA]

Goals:

  1. To provide an overview, though not a comprehensive survey, of the short story in Britain and Ireland.
  2. To learn something about narrative technique, as exemplified in the short story.
  3. To introduce the student to some of the distinctive regional voices of Scottish, English, Irish, and Welsh writers.