The University of Jordan
Faculty of Foreign Languages/ Department of the English Language and
Literature
Course Title: Short Story
Course Code: 2201251
Intended Learning Outcomes:
Upon the completion of this course, the students are expected to be able to:
A.
Knowledge and Understanding
 identify the major characteristics of the genre of short fiction,
 describe the main elements of a short story (plot, storyline, theme, characters,
setting, narrative, atmosphere, etc), and
 recognize the different traditions, schools, and approaches to writing short
fiction.
B.
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C.
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D.
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Intellectual /Cognitive/ Analytical Skills
develop the necessary analytical and critical thinking skills to examine the
literary text,
compare and contrast the works of different writers,
explain how a certain narrative technique fits a certain theme or topic
critique ideas and theories, and
produce coherent, meaningful, and logically constructed essays.
Subject Specific Skills
be able to analyze the role of a literary text in representing and exploring
social and cultural changes and
discuss the characteristics of each of the following movements and trends:
Realism, Naturalism, Modernism and Post-modernism.
Transferable Skills
develop the skill to argue, both orally and in writing, effectively.
adopt life-long reading habits,
apply critical thinking skills in real-life situations, and
employ knowledge about the different cultures that the texts talk about in
interaction with others in an increasingly multi-cultural world.
Textbook:
Material compiled from different anthologies
Web Companions:
Norton Literature Online:
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/literature/OpenSite.htm
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References from the E-library:
 Fallon, Erin C., R. A. Feddersen, and James Kurtzleben. Reader's Companion
to the Short Story in English. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated:
2000.

Koch, Stephen. Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of
Fiction. Random House Adult Trade Publishing Group: 2003.

Limon, John. Writing after War: American War Fiction from Realism to
Postmodernism. Oxford University Press, Incorporated: 1994.

Roche, Mark W. Why Literature Matters in the 21st Century. Yale University
Press: 2004.

Rossen, Janice. Women Writing Modern Fiction: A Passion for Ideas.
Palgrave Macmillan: 2004.
Course Plan:
Week 1:
Elements of Fiction
Week 2:
Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher"
Week 3:
Guy De Maupassant's "The Jewelry"
Anton Chekhov's "The Bet"
Week 4:
Thomas Hardy's "The Winters and the Palmleys"
Week 5:
Ernest Hemingway's "In Another Country"
Ernest Hemingway's "Cat in the Rain"
Week 6:
D. H. Lawrence's "The Horse Dealer's Daughter"
Week 7:
The Midterm Exam
Week 7:
Gabriel Garcia Marquez "A Very Old Man with Enormous
Wings"
Week 8:
William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"
John Collier's "The Chaser"
Week 9:
Katherine Mansfield's "The Garden Party"
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Week 10:
Toni Cade Bambara's "Gorilla, My Love"
Week 11:
Emily Nasrallah's "A House Not Her Own"
Jamiaca Kincaid's "Girl"
Week 12:
Alifa Riffat's "Another Evening at the Club"
Tobias Wolff's "Say Yes"
Week 13:
Bharati Mukherjee's "The Management of Grief"
Week 14:
Anjana Appachana's "To Rise Above"
Ann Beattie's "Janus"
Week 15:
Houshang Moradi-Kermani's "The Vice Principal"
[Students read this story on their own]
Evaluation:
Midterm exam:
Course Work:
Final:
30%
20%
50%
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