SYLLABUS
COURSE TITLE
FACULTY/INSTITUTE
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN SHORT STORY
FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY/INSTITUTE OF ENGLISH
STUDIES
COURSE CODE
DEGREE PROGRAMME
FIELD OF STUDY
DEGREE LEVEL
English philology
FORMA
MODE
STUDIÓW/STUDY
MA studies
full time studies
BASIC CONTENT
2 year, summer semester
COURSE FORMAT
YEAR AND SEMESTER
NAME OF THE TEACHER
dr Elżbieta Rokosz-Piejko
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the course is to familiarize the students with the wide thematic and
formal range of American short stories. The lectures are devoted to analyses of selected
short stories, aimed at both placing the texts in the historical, social and literary context,
and at discussing their formal features: narrative styles and structures, plot construction,
setting, point of view, etc.
PREREQUISITES
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Completed American literature survey
introduction to literary studies course.
course
and
KNOWLEDGE:
 The student possesses enriched knowledge concerning the
methodological specificity of literary analysis, knows and
understands advanced methods of analysis and interpretation
SKILLS:
 The student analyses critically selected texts
 The student explains the discussed problems using critical
publications
 The student interprets literary works independently.
FINAL COURSE OUTPUT - SOCIAL COMPETENCES


the student understands the need for life-long learning
the student is capable of cooperating and working in a group
COURSE ORGANISATION –LEARNING FORMAT AND NUMBER OF HOURS
LECTURE – 15 HOURS
COURSE DESCRIPTION
1. Introductory lecture – Short story in the history of American literature. Chopin, Kate
“The Story of an Hour”
2. Wolfe, Thomas “The Far and the Near”, O’Connor, Flannery “Good Country People”
3. Updike, John “A&P”, Thurber, James “The Catbird Seat”
4. Paredes, Americo “The Hammon and the Beans”, Cisneros, Sandra “Barbie-Q”,
Bambara, Toni Cade “The Lesson”
5. Cisneros, Sandra “Woman Hollering Creek”, Malamud, Bernard “The Prison”
6. Oates, Joyce Carol “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”
7. King, Stephen “Suffer the Little Children”, Barthelme, Donald “Me and Miss
Mandible”
8. Final test.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENTS
lecture/discussion/group work
Participation in the lectures and passing the final test
– a short story analysis.
GRADING SYSTEM
TOTAL STUDENT WORKLOAD
NEEDED TO ACHIEVE EXPECTED
LEARNING OUTCOMES EXPRESSED
IN TIME AND ECTS CREDIT POINTS
60% - dst, 70% - +dst, 80% - db, 90% - +db, 95% - bdb
Lecture: 15 godzin
Reading: 20
Preparation for the final test: 4 godziny
Total: 40
ECTS credit points: 2
ENGLISH
N/A
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION
INTERNSHIP
MATERIALS
PRIMARY OR REQUIRED BOOKS/READINGS:
Texts from the reading list included in the course
description.
Cuddon, J. A. The Penguin dictionary of literary terms and
literary theory. London : Penguin, 1999
Ruland, R. and M. Bradbury. From Puritanism to
postmodernism : a history of American literature. New
York: Penguin, 1992