ATS2513 - Short fiction classic and contemporary - 2017

The unit provides a historical and theoretical introduction to the short story, using a wide range of examples from Britain, the United States and Australia as well as a few from Russia, France, Japan, South Africa, South America and Ireland. Stories are selected in order to illustrate key elements and modes of fiction and narratological issues, which may be studied with particular advantage in such a concentrated literary form. Approximately four stories will be studied each week.

Students successfully completing this subject should have developed:

1. a sense of how literary texts relate to the periods in which they are written
2. a recognition of the key elements and devices of literary fiction
3. a familiarity with the appropriate theoretical and critical concepts employed in the discussion of literary texts
4. an ability to write coherently and in a scholarly manner about texts and ideas, through a) the development of close reading skills, and b) the production of critical research essays
5. greater confidence in the spoken skills of discussion and debate within a tutorial context

Within semester assessment: 80% + Exam: 20%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Dr John Hawke

Literary studies

Twelve credit points of first-year Arts units.