123224 SE Literature Seminar / BA Paper / MA American/North American Lit./Studies (2014S)

This course will offer an overview of the theory and history of North American short stories from Edgar Allan Poe to the late 20th century. By closely analyzing texts from several centuries and literary periods, we will both look at narratological features of these stories and contextualize them in their specific historical and political situations. At the same time, the short stories will provide opportunities for testing and revising various literary theories and critical approaches. One of the short story writers, Gerald Vizenor, will be in Vienna for a conference from June 19-22; the attendance of at least parts of this conference is compulsory!

Most of the texts discussed here can be found in the Norton Anthology; the others will be provided.
Texts will include Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown', Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Philosophy of Composition', 'The Poetic Principle', and 'The Purloined Letter', Brander Matthews' 'The Philosophy of the Short Story', Ambrose Bierce's 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge', Sarah Orne Jewett's 'A White Heron', Ernest Hemingway's 'A Clean Well-Lighted Place', Gerald Vizenor’s 'Almost Browne' and Alice Munro’s 'Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You.'

Recommended for Purchase: The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym et al. 8th ed. (or any previous edition). New York: Norton, 2012. Vols. B,C,D,E.