Week 1. Jan 13, 15
T Class: Introduction to course: What makes a story?
Hemingway's “A Very Short Story"
Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"
Assignment: Re-read the stories, underlining and writing questions.
R. Class: Work on stories on computer and f2f.
Assignment: read "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (p 63) and "I Want to Know Why" (p 1); write your response to each.

Unit I. Reading and Re-Reading
Week 2. Jan 20, 22
T. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "I Want to Know Why"--CONNECT.Net discussion.
R. "Gorilla, My Love" (p. 52) and "Hills Like White Elephants" (p. 443). ; consider these first reading questions for these stories.

Week 3. Jan 27, 29
T. "Babylon Revisited" and "The Yellow Wallpaper." (First readings)
ASSIGNMENT: re-read the story assigned to your group (posted on Connect.Net instructions), checking out the rereading guides.
R. Revisiting "Occurrence" (group 1), "I Want to Know" (group 2) and "Gorilla" (group 3) in groups. After f2f discussion, repost on your group's story, discussing points you find significant in our CONNECT postings and the re-reading guide. Feel free to add issues and questions you don't find addressed in these places (look over the re-reading questions to see what might be added).
ASSIGNMENT: Re-read the story (in the second group of readings) assigned to your group, checking out the re-reading guides.

Week 4. Feb 3, 5
T. Discussion groups (f2f) of the next three stories. Re-read stories with rereading guides and repost: Hills (1) , Babylon (2) , Wallpaper (3) . Start work on your paper.
R. Video Day (Babylon, Wallpaper, Hills, etc.)
Write paper 1 on "the reading process": Pick three of the 6 stories that we have been working with, one that you re-read with your group and two that your group did not work with. Reread the stories, if you have not already, using the rereading guides, the rereading questions, and the CONNECT postings as clues to important issues in the story which you did not pick up on your first reading. (You probably should take notes on all this to help you keep track.) Then write a paper about your reading experience, focusing on each story and comparing what you thought was important on your first reading and what you discovered later that played into your second reading.

Week 5. Feb 10, 12
T. Post paper 1 on these works. Class CONNECT critique of the papers. (It is crucial that you post your paper immediately so there will be plenty of time for discussion. You will be able to revise after reading the comments until class time on Thursday.)
ASSIGNMENT: Read "The Rocking Horse Winner," p. 543
R. CLASS: Discuss the story: what are the main questions that the story raises for you? Be sure to post AND comment (I expect you to comment on several papers, particularly those posted by people in your group)
Paper 1 will be collected electronically. (It will count for 10 course points)
CONNECT grade to date (sent to you in a CONNECT message). Quantity and quality of postings and comments will be considered (10 course points)
ASSIGNMENT: Read "Bartleby the Scrivener"

UNIT II. Studying stories in depth with hypertext.

Week 6. Feb 17, 19
T. CLASS: Discuss "Bartleby" on CONNECT, focusing on your questions about the story.
ASSIGNMENT: Read the Bartleby Web text outside of class time. Note: This will take a while, so give yourself the time. Take notes as you read, answering questions, etc.

R. CLASS: Post your notes and questions from the Web text on CONNECT; discuss new perspectives, questions about the story
ASSIGNMENT: Read "The Fall of the House of Usher."

Week 7. Feb 24, 26
T. CLASS: Discuss "Usher" on CONNECT, again focusing on questions about the story.
ASSIGNMENT: Read the Usher Web text outside of class. Again, take copious notes to post.

R. CLASS: Post notes; discuss new perspectives on the story on CONNECT
ASSIGNMENT: Paper 2. Go back to "The Rocking Horse Winner" or "The Yellow Wallpaper" or "Babylon Revisited " Write 10 hypertext notes/questions/explorations for one story. If you ask a question, give some idea of how you would answer it. (10 course points)

Week 8. Mar 3, 5
T: CLASS: Post your hypertext notes: read and comment on all others on your story. (Again, you have a brief period of revision: papers will be collected on Thursday)

R: Mid-term test on readings to date. (10 course points)

Week 9. Mar 17, 19
Unit III. Elements of Narration
T: Narrative expectations: Class work on four narrative types on CONNECT. Your Stories--Read 'em and laugh!
ASSIGNMENT: Read: "Bigfoot Stole My Wife" and "I Am Bigfoot" (p. 72), "Death by Landscape" (p. 10) and Talking about fiction (pp. xix-xxvii)
Look for a "found story" in anecdotes and media.

R: Post in CONNECT about the elements of these stories (expected and unexpected). Include your "found story" and consider the narrative elements in it (e.g. plot, conflict, characterization, dialogue, narrative point of view, symbols, tone, etc.
ASSIGNMENT: Read Oates' "How I Contemplated the World from the Detroit House of Correction and Began My Life Over Again" (p. 665). How does the story challenge and/or reinforce your narrative expectations? What questions do you have? What parts need re-reading?

Week 10 Mar 24, 26
T. Discuss the Oates story.
ASSIGNMENT: Read O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" (p. 679). Consider the reading and re-reading questions (you may need to re-read the story if you did not pick up enough on the first reading.)

R. Discuss the O'Connor story.
Read Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" (p. 275) considering the reading and re-reading questions. (again, you may need to re-read)

Week 11 Mar 31, Apr 2
T. Discuss the Faulkner story.
Post a brief outline of the main points of your paper.

R. Post paper 3 on three of these stories, comparing the ways in which the authors choose to tell their stories and how their narrative choices reinforce major ideas of the story. Read and critique. (It will be collected on Tuesday and will be worth 20 course points.)
Read Faulkner's "The Bear."

Unit IV. Deep Reading of Longer Narratives
You should read each story first for Tuesday. At the end of the class period I will post questions for you to explore for Thursday (which may require re-reading).

Week 12 Apr 7, 9 "The Bear" (p. 283)

Week 13 Apr 14, 16 "Heart of Darkness" (p. 159)

Week 13 Apr 21, 23

T. "Death of Ivan Ilych" (p. 781)

R. Comparison paper 4 on these three stories due. You may choose instead to do an in-depth critical paper on one story of the last six (hint--along the lines of the exploration topics) which includes some research (let me know if you plan to take this option)

Week 14 Apr 28

T. Review for final exam on Tuesday, May 5 at 1 p.m. 

Course Points

Paper 1: 10 points
Paper 2: 10 points
Mid-term: 10 points
Connect discussion evaluation: 10 points (mid-term) + 10 points (final)
Paper 3: 20 points
Paper 4: 20 points
Final exam: 10 points