230454 The British Short Story: Theory and History (S) (WiSe 2016/2017)

The short story is a literary art form of its own. Its brevity - in comparison to the novel - confines the short story, but it makes literary effects possible that other modes of narration do not have. Most people appreciate short stories for their very shortness, but the long and intritcate history of the short story as literay medium is frequently overlooked. Particuarly in Britain, the short story has played an important role in the literary system since the establishment of the printing press.

In this seminar, we will read a broad range of British short stories from the Early Modern period until today, and we will discuss a number of theoretical approaches to the construction and effects of the short story.

Please note that the reading load for this seminar will NOT be lower than that of other courses that deal e.g. with novels - we will simply use the space of the semester to read very many short stories.

Teilnahmevoraussetzungen, notwendige Vorkenntnisse

Students who wish to register for this course ought to have completed the course "Analysing and Interpreting Literary Texts".

Literaturangaben

All materials will be made available for download via the "Lernraum" towards the beginning of the semester.