The primary aim of this course is to introduce students to the practice and pleasure of critically reading contemporary short stories. We’ll engage with several new collections of short stories, discussing both individual stories and each book as a whole. We will also devote time to reading (and even writing!) short-shorts/flash fiction.



This course fulfills the “W” general education requirement. As such, students will complete 10-15 pages of graded, out-of-class writing with the opportunity for revision.



Texts:

Nathan Englander, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank

ZZ Packer, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

Jhumpa Lahiri, Unaccustomed Earth

George Saunders, Tenth of December

Mary Gaitskill, Don’t Cry