autumn 2020 ENG-3106 Short Fiction in English - 10 ECTS
Type of course
This course is intended for students in the master's programme in English literature and students in the master's programme in education year 8-13 (lektorutdanning trinn 8-13, studieretning engelsk). This course may be taken as a single course by students who meet the admission requirements for the MA programme in English Literature.Admission requirements
Bachelor's degree (180 ECTS), or equivalent qualification, in English literature, or a degree combining English literature and a closely-related discipline (minimum 80 ECTS in English). An average grade equivalent to C or better (in the Norwegian grading system) in the English coursework (80 ECTS) is required.
Application code: 9371 - Enkeltemner på masternivå (Nordic applicants).
Course content
In this course we will explore short fiction as a literary form. This includes examining the boundaries of the genre and its literary historical development, as well as interpreting short fiction through various formal, ideological and thematic lenses. The main emphasis in autumn 2020 will be on modernist experiments with the genre, postcolonial short fiction and contemporary short fiction, including the most recent developments. In analysing a range of different writers and styles, we will pay close attention to the representations of gender, class, ethnicity and race, and ask whether any experiences and/or identities seem to lend themselves particularly well to the short story form.Objectives of the course
The students have the following learning outcomes:
Knowledge
- The student has a thorough understanding of the required primary texts and knows how to relate them to the broader literary historical contexts and critical perspectives in question.
- The student has advanced knowledge of how chosen literary historical, social and cultural contexts have shaped the development of the short story genre.
- The student has a strong understanding of the central questions of short fiction theory and knows how to relate them to the analysed texts.
Skills
- The student can analyse formal, stylistic and thematic features of the required primary texts using relevant theoretical concepts in a precise and independent manner.
- The student can articulate well-researched, independent insights about significant developments of the short story genre.
- The student can present their ideas in a clear, coherent manner and support them with close readings of the texts.
- The student can engage critically with secondary sources in their written work and is able to cite the sources correctly.
- The student can use academic English confidently, in both spoken and written form.
Assessment
Coursework requirements
Each student must:
- hand in an academic blog of 1200-1500 words and write a response to another student’s post (about 200 words).
- hold a 10-15 minute presentation
- hand in a draft of the term paper (about 5-6 pages; 1.5 spacing, font size 12).
The coursework requirements must be approved before the student can take the final exam.
Exam
Term paper (12-15 pages; 1.5 line spacing, font size 12).
Performance in the course will be assessed with the grades A-F. A re-sit examination is offered in the event of an F-grade. Grades are A-E for passed and F for failed. The deadline to register for a re-sit examination is 15th January for the autumn semester and 15th August for the spring semester. In the event of a re-sit examination, the student can submit a revised version of his/her term paper within a given deadline.
- About the course
- Campus: Tromsø |
- ECTS: 10
- Course code: ENG-3106
- Responsible unit
- Institutt for språk og kultur