SAMPLE SYLLABUS EN 301 – Readings in Prose Fiction
“Looking Back: History/ies in Fiction”
Leah Anderst
Email: LAnderst@qcc.cuny.edu
Office: H455
Prerequisite for this course: EN102
“Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”
– George Orwell, 1984
Course Description
From the QCC Bulletin: 3 class hours, 1 recitation hour, 3 credits. Prerequisite: EN 102. Critical
study of the short story, the novella, and the novel; readings in fiction of the past three centuries.
In this course we will focus on fiction that engages with historical events and characters, writers
who depict past times in addition to (sometimes) depicting their own. Much fiction takes a
historical moment as its starting point, and from there evolves into an imaginative recreation of the
past. Authors thereby create dialogues with the past. The fiction we will read highlights this
intersection of history and fiction, memory and imagination, fact and invention. In our discussions
and in your writing, we will consider how each author creates, retrieves, invents the past—a past
that inevitably weaves itself into the present. Many of our readings will explore, in particular,
radical revisions of history.
Course Objectives
This course contributes to the following QCC General Education Objectives:
• Communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening and speaking
• Work collaboratively in diverse groups directed at accomplishing learning outcomes.
• Use historical or social sciences perspectives to examine formation of ideas, human
behavior, social institutions or social processes.
• Apply aesthetic and intellectual criteria in the evaluation or creation of works in the
humanities or the arts
Course Objectives specific to this course:
• Articulate the ways that fiction reflects the time and context of its own period and the ways
that historical fiction engages with the past time period of its focus.
• Develop a critical awareness and vocabulary of issues and problems surrounding prose
fiction.
• Demonstrate a proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking about prose fiction.
• Demonstrate an ability to write about fiction using textual evidence to support argument.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the commonalities and distinctions between varieties of
prose fiction (short story, novella, novel)
• Engage with scholarly research sources related to the primary readings and to the course
topic.
SAMPLE SYLLABUS EN 301, Page 2 Required Texts
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Díaz
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, by Maryse Condé
Kindred, by Octavia Butler
“Benito Cereno” by Herman Melville (Handout)
Short stories and Secondary Readings as handouts and/or on Blackboard
Rules for Writers or another style manual of your choosing
Graded Assignments
In-Class Participation 10%
This course will be taught in seminar format. Student contributions to discussions and activities
will be the key to a successful semester. Students will be graded on their preparation (bringing
book(s) and articles to class, having completed reading assignments) as well as the amount (or lack
thereof) and quality of their voluntary discussion participation (in small groups and the larger
class).
Quizzes and In-Class Informal Writing 10%
There will be frequent in class writing activities as well as quizzes testing your knowledge of the
day’s readings. These will take place at the beginning of class, and they cannot be made up, so be
sure to arrive to class on time.
Small Group Presentation 10%
In groups of 3, students will lead the discussion on assigned days. Groups will give a presentation
of about 15-20 minutes in which members indicate points of interest in the text and raise pertinent
discussion questions.
Reading Responses 20%
Students will complete four (4) reading responses over the course of the semester. Each reading
response will provide analysis of one pertinent aspect of the text assigned for the day, including,
when possible, connections to other assigned texts. Each response must be 2 pages in length, using
MLA format (12-point font, Times New Roman or similar font, with proper citation style).
Midterm Essay Examination 20%
Students will complete an in-class midterm essay examination, during which they will integrate
knowledge of key terms and ideas from the course as well as insights into the texts read for the
course.
Final Paper 30%
Students will write an analytical essay concerning one or more of the texts read for class. This
paper will be 7-8 pages in length (MLA format) and include references to at least two secondary
sources (one of which can be a secondary source assigned in the course syllabus). Papers will be
graded on the strength of the content (ideas, analysis) as well as the quality of the writing and
organization.