Chemnitz University of Technology Anglistische Literaturwissenschaft/ English Literature(s) Department   English Literature(s)     WS 04/05     The Short Story

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The Short Story

Course Description

The short story is generally considered "a young art," "the child" of the twentieth century, as Elizabeth Bowen, not quite an insignificant practitioner of the art herself, put it in 1936. The rise of the short story is generally related to "the restlessness," "the short breath of contemporary life" (V.S. Pritchett). In other words, the short story is the genre that is seen as truly representative of radical changes occurring during the first decades of the 20th century. These changes are not only related to revolutions in literary modes and styles, but also to the phenomena of (mass) production and (mass) consumption of literature as well as to the advances of modern technology and modernism in general.
The course aims to study the theory and practice of the short story in an historical dimension. It will briefly go back to the pioneers of the genre (e.g. E.A. Poe) and their influential attempts at defining a short story before exploring the rich variety of modernist and postmodernist stories. The emphasis throughout will be on British and Irish short stories.

Required reading:

• Relevant material will be made available after registration.

Recommended reading:

• Barbara Korte (2003). The Short Story in Britain. Tübingen: Francke/UTB.

Prerequisites:

• "Introduction to the Study of Literature"

Requirements for Credit:

• regular attendance,
• oral presentation,
• term paper.

Registration:

• To register, please send an e-mail to Prof. Huber before 15 September, stating your name, semester standing, and subjects. To avoid disappointment, please register early, as there is a limit on attendance (25 participants).

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