ENG 208
Studies in Fiction
Spring 2013
Professor Jon Thompson
Tompkins 241
www. jon-thompson.net
Syllabus
Critical Framework
This class will examine what fiction as a genre does and what it seeks to do. We will
focus on understanding the work that fiction does (among other things, the imagined
worlds it makes possible) and the conventions that it deploys to do so. The framework of
the course will examine fiction less as mimetic or reflective of reality and more as
evaluative of our social world. We will closely read short stories and novellas (short
novels) by a wide range of American authors, most of them contemporary—James
Baldwin, Louise Erdrich, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Richard Ford, Cormac McCarthy, Shirley
Jackson, Walter Mosley and Colson Whitehead. Two out-of-class essays, a midterm and
a final exam, and much participation will make up the course requirements.
Texts
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James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room (Delta, 1956)
Louise Erdrich, The Round House (Harper, 2012)
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (Scribner, 1953)
Richard Ford, Rock Springs (Grove Press, 1987)
Shirley Jackson, The Lottery and Other Stories (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2005)
Denis Johnson, Train Dreams (Picador, 2012)
Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men (Vintage, 2007)
Walter Mosley, The Man in My Basement (Back Bay Books, 2004)
Colson Whitehead, Zone One (Anchor Books, 2011)
Course Goals
1. To become familiar with some of the key conventions in fiction & to understand it
as a genre of writing.
2. To become familiar with key traditions in fiction
3. To develop close reading skills
4. To develop critical thinking skills
5. To develop critical writing (essay skills)
Readings
Note: Reading is to be done before class on the listed days.
Jan. 8: Introduction
Jan. 10: Shirley Jackson, The Lottery and Other Stories
Jan. 15: Shirley Jackson, The Lottery and Other Stories
Jan. 17: No class—reading day
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Jan. 21: MLK Holiday
Jan. 22: Shirley Jackson, The Lottery and Other Stories
Jan 24: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Jan. 29: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Jan. 31: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Feb. 5: Colson Whitehead, Zone One
Feb. 7: Colson Whitehead, Zone One
Feb. 12: Colson Whitehead, Zone One
Feb. 14: Walter Mosley, The Man in My Basement
Feb. 19: Walter Mosley, The Man in My Basement
Feb. 21: No class—Due date of essay #1 (drop off at my office by 4.00pm).
Feb. 26: Richard Ford, Rock Springs
Feb. 28: Midterm Exam
Mar. 5: Spring Break
Mar. 7: Spring Break
Mar. 12: Richard Ford, Rock Springs
Mar. 14: Richard Ford, Rock Springs
Mar. 19: James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room
Mar. 21: James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room
Mar. 26: Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men
Mar. 28: Spring Holiday
Apr. 2: Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men
Apr. 4: Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men
Apr. 9: Louise Erdrich, The Round House
Apr. 11: Louise Erdrich, The Round House
Apr. 16: Louise Erdrich, The Round House
Apr. 18: Denis Johnson, Train Dreams
Apr. 23: Denis Johnson, Train Dreams
Apr. 25: Retrospective
Apr. 26: Due date of Essay #2, noon at my office
May 2: 9.00-12.00am: Final Exam
May 11: Spring Commencement
May 13: Grades due by 5.00pm
Grades
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2.
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6.
Participation: 10%
In class writing: 10%
Essay 1: 20% [topic sheet to be assigned]
Essay 2: 20% [topic sheet to be assigned]
Midterm: 20%
Final exam: 20%
Grade Scale:
97-100= A+
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93-96=A
90-92=A87-89=B+
83-86=B
80-82=B77-79=C+
73-76=C
70-72=C67-69=D+
64-66=D
61-63=D0-60=F
Structure of the critical essay:
1) Multi-sentence thesis (see handout).
2) Main body that supports and develops the claims made in the thesis (more on this in
my essay writing workshop).
3) Some kind of conclusion.
Note: The essay should be 7-9 pages in length (double spaced, size 12 font, standard
margins and spacing). No more than one inch margins all the way around. AVOID
spacing tricks: they’re miserably ineffective—they simply draw attention to what hasn’t
been done! I will distribute essay questions for you to choose from and will also provide
written and verbal instructions on how to write a proper critical essay.
Course Policies
1. The course will be organized around discussions and mini-lectures. Since this course
offers a learning environment structured around the collective insights of the class,
participation is required. But don’t panic: participation consists of lots of things (and not
just the ultimate magisterial interpretation): for example-- informed questions,
observations, noting parallels between one thing or field and another, interesting tensions,
etc. I encourage all of these forms of participation.
In order to allow for a focused, participatory classroom experience, I ask that everyone
turn off his or her cell phone before class, and all cell phones are to be put away and out
of sight during class. Texting distracts students and it distracts me, and in my view, it
threatens the integrity of the educational experience: if you text in my class you will
automatically forfeit the participation part of your grade (10%), so ask yourself if texting
a friend or family member is worth that. For similar reasons, surfing the internet,
emailing, doing homework for other classes, reading material not under discussion, eating
and grooming oneself are to be done before or after class, but not in it. (Drinks, however,
are OK).
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2. Attendance is assumed and mandatory. Everyone is allowed 3 emergency absences.
Every absence after that will result in the deduction of a full point from the student’s final
overall average.
3. Everyone is responsible for turning in all assignments on time, and for assimilating
material covered in seminar lectures and discussions. If you’re having trouble with the
content of the course, please see me. All written essays must be submitted in hard copy
form unless I have approved some other arrangement.
4. Missed assignments can only be made up at my discretion, and only if you notify me
in advance.
5. Otherwise, work turned in after the due date will be penalized a half a letter grade for
every day that it is late. All work turned in late will be graded late (after the work that has
been turned in on time).
6. Plagiarized work will automatically be failed and the student will receive an “F” for
the semester. In addition, the case may be referred to the Student Judicial Board for
further sanctions. Each essay should be turned in with the following pledge: “I undertake
that this essay is my work and my work alone. No one else has contributed to it and I
have not used anyone else’s ideas or language without attribution________________”
7. If you run into difficulties or have questions about the assignments, course content or
grading procedures, please don’t hesitate to discuss them with me. It is easier for me to
help at the beginning stages of a problem; it is much more difficult to do so when it is in
full bloom. Additionally, note that face-to-face assistance is offered by NCSU’s
Undergraduate Tutorial Center: http://www.ncsu.edu/tutorial_center/
8. Acquiring the books listed on the syllabus before they will be discussed in class is an
absolute requirement of the course. My strong preference is that you acquire the editions
of the books listed above, preferably in print form but digital form is acceptable, but I do
not regard reading texts on cell phones as a credible alternative. It is not acceptable to not
acquire these texts, nor is it acceptable to come to class without the assigned text for that
day. That is an expectation that is basic to an education. Not acquiring the books, not
reading them, not bringing them to class will be regarded as a sign of indifference and
factored as such into the course grade.
9. I am happy to make accommodation for documented disabilities as per university
regulations.
10. In this class, as in all your classes, follow Ovid’s advice: "Either do not attempt at all,
or go through with it."
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