BTAN 3014MA
Topics in North American Literature after 1900
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN MINIMALIST FICTION
Spring 2012
M 14:00-15:40
Main bldg., 119
Zoltán Abádi-Nagy, Office: main bldg., 120/2
Phone (no voice mail): (52) 316-666/2507
E-mail—<abnagyzo@yahoo.com>
Office hours:
M 13:00-14:00,
and by appointment.
Make-up classes when needed:
Prospectus
The course will concentrate on theoretical aspects and the diverse representative fictional
practice of the minimalist novel and short story. Particular attention will be given to the broader
spectrum of contemporary American fiction and to important debates of the past few decades, as
well as to the larger question of how minimalism relates to these. Works by Raymond Carver,
Frederick Barthelme, Ann Beattie, Brett Easton Ellis, Richard Ford, David Leavitt, Bobbie Ann
Mason, and Joy Williams will be discussed.
Class Format: seminar discussion combined with my lecture sections plus theoretical and
critical debates generated by student presentations.
Credit: 5 credit hours.
General Course Requirements
The reading assignments are kept as reasonable as possible, given your heavy course load, but
students will be expected to attend class faithfully, to keep up with the readings, and to come to
class prepared with questions and comments for discussion. The classes will be conducted in an
atmosphere in which the instructor and the students take the time to discuss readings and share
their insights. We can set aside part of any class meeting for informal discussion of our work if
needed.
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Requirements
Reader's journal; participation in class discussion; oral presentation; one in-class essay; one outof-class essay; final test.
Presentation
A 20-minute exposition and critique of one theoretical or critical essay recommended in the
DEBATE cells of the “Schedule,” or individual discussion of some aspect of assigned reading
(three presenters per DEBATE slot and only one per discussion class session). The
presenter’s aim is to generate a good debate by using the interrogative (question-and-answer)
method. Sign-up deadline for presentations: February 27.

Writing Assignments
JOURNAL—Each student will keep a reader's journal in a separate notebook, making
an entry of at least one page per assigned reading, raising at least one pertinent issue for
classroom discussion. You are free to choose your own topics. (More about this in
class.) The journal entries may be hand-written or typed, as you prefer. Journals will be
collected at least twice during the term, beginning the fourth week of class.
PAPERS—1) The in-class essay will concern one of the works discussed up to that
point (topic assigned). 2) The out-of-class critical essay (8-10 double-spaced, wordprocessed pages) will be on a topic of your own designing. It is a research essay and
must be comparative with at least two printed sources. Each paper will be discussed in a
peer workshop before it is submitted. The writing workshop is fundamental to the
course. Students who do not participate in it because they are absent without good cause
or because their paper is not drafted will lose 5 points on the grade of the paper once it is
handed in. The essay will be graded for substance, structure, scholarship, and style. Two
conference sessions (conducted in office hours) are meant to help you design a topic
(first conference) and to monitor the progress of your project (second conference)
through individual discussions. For due date see "Schedule" below. Assignments 1 and 2
will be discussed in detail in class. 3) The final test will be a combination of various
kinds of identification questions. It will be described more fully in class near the end of
the semester.
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N.B.
1. Documentation, format—When you consult or quote a source, document it according to the
usual academic principles. In all matters of form, use the MLA format. If you have questions
about how to do so, ask me, turn to the Writing Center, or ask the Institute’s librarians for
the 5th or more recent edition of the MLA Handbook.
2. Editing—Take pride in your work, edit it carefully, root out mechanical errors. Expect your
in-class and out-of-class paper to lose one credit point per every five errors.
3. Font, margins—Out-of-class papers must be typed in an ordinary font. Those with
abnormally wide margins or typeface will be returned unmarked, and must be resubmitted
as directed.
4. Late paper policy—No late paper policy. The presentation and essay deadlines are not
negotiable.
5. Academic misconduct—Plagiarism will not be tolerated. It is my practice to levy the
maximum penalty against plagiarism. The Institute of English and American Studies
expects its students to adhere to the university’s expectations of student conduct, especially
as it pertains to academic misconduct. This statement must be typed on the title page of
your essay and signed in hand: “This paper has been prepared in full awareness of the
international norms of academic conduct.”
Grading
Participation in discussion (inclusive of occasional quizzes—unannounced, and
evaluated on an S/F basis, F meaning a loss of one point in each case—designed to check if you
have actually read the day’s reading) will count 15%,
the journal 15%,
the presentation 10%,
the in-class essay 10%,
the take-home essay 25%,
the final test 25%.
A=91-100; B=81-90; C=71-80; D=61-70; F is 60% or below.
N.B.
1. Course requirements—The in-class essay, the out-of-class essay, and the final test are course
requirements; i.e., without satisfying these requirements, you cannot get a grade in the
course.
2. Incompletes—Incomplete status will be granted only if you must miss classes, the final test,
or cannot submit the out-of-class essay because of verified illness or of scheduled activities
of official university student organizations if I am notified in advance of your absence.
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3. Absence policy—Regular attendance and participation are required. Faithful and alert
attendance is extremely important to what you learn in the course, as well as to the success
of the course as a whole. Grades can be lowered for more than two unexcused absences. If
circumstances exist that cause you to be absent more than twice in the semester, make an
appointment to speak to me about your progress in the course. I reserve the right to lower
your final grade by 5 points for each unofficial absence after your second, when, in my
judgment, absences have been unwarranted. However, four unexcused absences will
automatically fail the course. It is possible to fail the course by absences alone
4. Tardy policy—Tardiness and early departures are not allowable. They are offensive to your
fellow students and to the instructor because they disrupt class work. If you have a
compelling reason for arriving late or leaving early, speak with me about the problem. If you
regularly cut the beginning and/or the end of class sessions, it can add up to unexcused fullclass-time absences.
5. Extra credit—No extra credit policy.
6. Borderline grades—If your grade is borderline, it depends on attendance and the general
pattern of your work (performance improvements) if you can get a break.
7. Discussing grades—If you have questions about how I evaluated your work, please stop by
to see me. It is my policy to discuss grades in person only, and not over the telephone or via
e-mail.
8. Disabilities policy—Students who need course adaptations or accommodations because of
disability or who have emergency medical information to share, should speak to me after the
first class meeting.
SCHEDULE
Month
February
Day
Assignments, lectures, discussion, presentations
6
Course introduction and requirements
13
Minimalist fiction
20
RAYMOND
CARVER
27
ANN
BEATTIE
Cathedral
“Feathers,” “Chef’s House,” “Preservation,” “The Compartment,”
“A Small, Good Thing,”
“Cathedral.”
Where You’ll Find Me
“In the White Night,” “Snow,”
“Taking Hold,” “Skeletons,” “The
Big, Outside World,” “Where
You’ll Find Me.”
5
Month
March
Day
Assignments, lectures, discussion, presentations
5
DEBATE: THEORY AND CRITICISM—1
John Barth’s “A Few Words About Minimalism,” Frederick Barthelme’s
“On Being Wrong: Convicted Miniamlist Spills Beans,” J. Gerald
Kennedy’s “From Anderson’s Winesburg to Carver’s Cathedral,” Raymond
Carver’s “On Writing.”
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FREDERICK
BARTHELME
19
JOY
Chroma
“Driver,” “Cleo,” “Trick Scenery,”
“Cut Glass,” “Chroma,” “Magic
Castle,” “Black Tie.”
Breaking & Entering
WILLIAMS
April
2
In-class essay
Conferences—1 (in office hour)

16
BOBBIE ANN
MASON
23
Shiloh and Other Stories
“Shiloh,” “The Rookers,” “Detroit
Skyline,” “Residents and
Transients,” “The Retreat,”
“Graveyard Day,” “A New-Wave
Format.”
DEBATE: THEORY AND CRITICISM—2
Kim A. Herzinger’s “On the New Fiction,” “Cynthia Hallet’s “Minimalism
and the Short Story,” G. O. Morphew’s “Downhome Feminists in Shiloh
and Other Stories,” Barbara Henning’s “Minimalism and the American
Dream: ‘Shiloh’ by Bobbie Ann Mason and ‘Preservation’ by Raymond
Carver.”
6
Month
May
Day
7
Assignments, lectures, discussions, presentations
RICHARD
FORD
Rock Springs
“Rock Springs,” “Great Falls,”
“Sweethearts,” “Children,”
“Optimists,” “Communist.”
Conferences—2 (in office hour)

May
14
DEBATE: THEORY AND CRITICISM—3
Jeffrey J. Folks’ “Richard Ford: Postmodern Cowboys,” Marc Chénetier’s
“Cultural Tradition and the Present II: The Everyday and Mass Culture,”
“Ann-Marie Karlsson’s “The Hyperrealistic Short Story: A Postmodern
Twilight Zone.” David Leavitt’s “The New Lost Generation.”
DAVID
Family Dancing
LEAVITT
BRET EASTON
“Territory,” “Counting Months,”
“The Lost Cottage,” “Aliens,”
“Family Dancing.”
Less Than Zero
ELLIS
Out-of-class essays due
DEBATE: THEORY AND CRITICISM—4
Philip E. Simmons’ “Minimalist Fiction As ‘Low’ Postmodernism,” David
Kaufmann’s “Yuppie Postmodernism,” John W. Aldridge’s “The New
Assembly-Line Fiction” and “Less Is a Lot Less,” Christina Murphy’s “The
Literary Milieu,” Nick Sahlin’s “’But This Road Doesn’t Go Anywhere’:
The Existential Drama in Less Than Zero,” “Peter Freese’s “Bret Easton
Ellis, Less Than Zero: Entropy in the ‘MTV Novel.’”
Final test
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Texts (in these or any other editions)
Selected stories from:
Barthelme, Frederick. Chroma. 1987. New York: Grove, 1996.
Beattie, Ann. Another You. 1995. New York: Vintage, 1996.
Carver, Raymond. Cathedral. 1983. New York: Vintage, 1989.
Ellis, Bret Easton. Less Than Zero. 1985. New York: Penguin, 1986.
Ford, Richard. Rock Springs. 1987. New York: Vintage, 1988.
Leavitt, David. Family Dancing. 1984. Boston: Houghton, 1997.
Mason, Bobbie Ann. Shiloh and Other Stories. 1982. Lexington: UP of Kentucky,
1995.
Williams, Joy. Breaking & Entering. New York: Vintage, 1988.
Recommended Critical Reading (includes full bibliographical information for DEBATE and
course packet items—the latter indicated as “CP”)
MINIMALISM (theory, general)
Abádi Nagy Zoltán. Az amerikai minimalista próza. Budapest: Argumentum, 1994.
---. „Everyday Values and Contemporary American Minimalist Fiction.” Values in American
Society. Ed. Tibor Frank. Budapest: ELTE, 1995. 197-212.
Aldridge, John W. “The New Assembly-Line Fiction.” Talents and Technicians: Literary
Chic and the New Assembly-Line Fiction. New York: Scribner, 1992. 1-43.
---- “Less Is a Lot Less.” Ibid. 47-78. CP
Annesley, James. Blank Fictions: Consumerism, Culture, and the Contemporary American
Novel. New York: St. Martin’s, 1998. CP
Barth, John. “A Few Words About Minimalism.” The New York Times Book Review 28
Dec. 1986: 1, 2, 25. Rpt. Further Fridays: Essays, Lectures, and Other
Nonfiction 1984-94. Boston: Little, 1995. 64-74. CP
Barthelme, Frederick. “On Being Wrong: Convicted Minimalist Spills Beans.” The New
York Times Book Review 3 Apr. 1988: 1, 25, 26. CP
Brinkmeyer, Robert H., Jr. “Finding One’s History: Bobbie Ann Mason and Contemporary
Southern Literature.” The Southern Literary Journal (Spring 1987): 22-33. CP
Carver, Raymond. See “Carver” below.
Chénetier, Marc. “Cultural Tradition and the Present II: The Everyday and Mass
Culture.” Beyond Suspicion: New American fiction Since 1960. Philadelphia: U of
Pennsylvania P, 1996. 216-26. CP
Hallett, Cynthia J. “Minimalism and the Short Story.” Studies in Short Fiction 33 (1996):
487-95. CP
Herzinger, Kim A. “Introduction: On the New Fiction.” Mississippi Review 40/41 (1985):
7-22. CP
---. “Minimalism as a Postmodernism: Some Introductory Notes..” New Orleans Review
16.3 (1989): 73-81. CP
Karlsson, Ann-Marie. “The Hyperrealistic Short Story: A Postmodern Twilight Zone.”
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Criticism in the Twilight Zone: Postmodern Perspectives on Literature and Politics.
Ed. Danuta Zadworna-Fjellestad. Stockholm: Almquist, 1990. 144-53. CP
Kaufmann, David. “Yuppie Postmodernism.” Arizona Quarterly 1991 Summer, 47:2, 93116. CP
Leavitt, David. “The New Lost Generation.” Esquire 5 (1985): 85-95. CP
Murphy, Christina. Cf. “Beattie” CP
Pope, Dan. “The Post-Minimalist American Story or What Comes After Carver?” The
Gettysburg Review 1.2 1988): 331-42. CP
Sári B. László. “Az amerikai minimalista próza nyomában.” A mondat becsülete. Ed. Bényei
Tamás, Bollobás Enikő, D. Rácz István. Debrecen: Debrecen UP, 2010. 296-316.
Simmons, Philip E. “Minimalist Fiction as ‘Low’ Postmodernism: Mass Culture and the
Search for History.” Genre 24 (Spring 1991): 45-62. Read the rpt., revised
version: Deep Surfaces: Mass Culture & History in Postmodern American Fiction.
Athens: U of Georgia P, 1997. 105-46. CP
Sodowski, Roland. “The Minimalist Short Story: Its Definition, Writers, and (Small) Heyday.”
Studies in Short Fiction 33 (1996): 529-40. CP
Verhoeven, W. M. “What We Talk About When We Talk About Raymond Carver, Or, Much
Ado About Minimalism.” Narrative Turns and Minor Genres in Postmodernism. Ed.
Theo D’haen and Hans Bertens. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995. 41-60. CP
BARTHELME
Barthelme, Frederick. Cf. “Minimalism”
Brinkmeyer, Robert H., Jr. “Suburban Culture, Imaginative Wonder: The Fiction of
Frederick Barthelme.” Studies in the Literary Imagination 27.1 (1994): 105-14. CP
BEATTIE
McKinstry, Susan Jaret. “The Speaking Silence of Ann Beattie’s Voice.” Studies in Short
Fiction 24 (1987): 111-17. CP
Montresor, Jaye Berman. The Critical Response to Ann Beattie. Westport, CN:
Greenwood, 1993.
Murphy, Christina. “The Literary Milieu.” Ann Beattie. Boston: Twayne, 1986. 8-19. CP
CARVER
Carver, Raymond. “On Writing.” Fires: Essays, Poems, Stories. New York: Vintage,
1984. 13-18. CP
Gearhart, Michael WM. “Breaking the Ties that Bind: Inarticulation in the Fiction of
Raymond Carver.” Studies in Short Fiction 26 (1989): 439-46.
Clarke, Graham. “Investing the Glimpse: Raymond Carver and the Syntax of Silence.” The New
American Writing: Essays on American Literature Since 1970. New York:
St. Martin’s, 1990. 99-122. CP
Kennedy, J. Gerald. “From Anderson’s Winesburg to Carver’s Cathedral: The Short
Story Sequence and the Semblance of Community.” Modern American Short
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Story Sequences: Composite Fictions and Fictive Communities. Cambridge:
Cambridge UP, 1995.
McCaffery, Larry and Sinda Gregory. “An Interview with Raymond Carver.” Conversations
with Raymond Carver. Ed. Marshall Bruce Gentry and William L. Stull. Jackson: UP of
Mississippi, 1990. 98-116. Updated version of “Interview with Raymond Carver.”
Mississippi Review 40/41 (1985): 64-81. CP
Meyer, Adam. “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t, Now You Do Again: The Evolution of
Raymond Carver’s Minimalism.” Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 1989
Summer, 30:4, 239-51.
Mullen, Bill. “A Subtle Spectacle: Televisual Culture in the Short Stories of Raymond
Carver.” Critique: Studies in Modern Fiction 1998 Winter, 39:2, 99-114. CP
Nesset, Kirk. The Stories of Raymond Carver: A Critical Study. Athens: Ohio UP, 1995.
ELLIS
Freese, Peter. “Bret Easton Ellis: Less Than Zero: Entropy in the ‘MTV Novel.’” Modes of
Narrative: Approaches to American, Canadian and British Fiction. Ed. Reingard M.
Nischik and Barbara Korte. Würzburg: Königshausen, 1990.
Sahlin, Nicki. “’But This Road Doesn’t Go Anywhere’: The Existential Drama in Less
Than Zero.” Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 1991 Fall, 33:1, 23-42. CP
FORD
Folks, Jeffrey J. “Postmodern Cowboys.” Southern Writers at Century’s End. Ed. Jeffrey
J. Folks and James A. Perkins. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 1997. 212-25. CP
LEAVITT
Leavitt, David. Cf. “Minimalism”
Lo, Mun-Hou. “David Leavitt and the Etiological Maternal Body.” Modern Fiction Studies
1995 Fall-Winter, 41:3-4, 439-65. CP
MASON
Giannone, Richard. “Bobbie Ann Mason and the Recovery of Mystery.” Studies in Short
Fiction 27 (1990): 553-66.
Henning, Barbara. “Minimalism and the American Dream: ‘Shiloh’ by Bobbie Ann Mason
and ‘Preservation’ by Raymond Carver.” Modern Fiction Studies 1989 Winter,
35:4, 689-98. CP
Morphew, G. O. “Downhome Feminists in Shiloh and Other Stories.” The Southern
Literary Journal 1989 Spring, 22:2, 41-49. CP
Wilhelm, Albert E. “Making Over and Making Off: The Problem of Identity in Bobbie Ann
Mason’s Short Fiction.” The Southern Literary Journal 1986 Spring, 18:2, 76-82. CP
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WILLIAMS
Szalay, Edina. “Breaking into the House of Death and Love: The Gothic as Subtext in a
Minimalist Novel (Joy Williams’s Breaking & Entering).
Optional video sessions: Carver, Mason (In Country), Ford (Bright Angels)