Jan 20 Tu - Introduction. Reading:
Policies
and Requirements,
SMU Honor Code,
and The
Reason I Missed Class from website.
Jan 22 Th –“Showing and
Telling” from website. Discussion of short-shorts from handout. (Handout
available as a .pdf file here:
2392shortshorts)
Jan 27 Tu –Writing
Assignment #1 due: the short-short.
Jan 29 Th – University decrees that this is a Monday
Feb 03 Tu – Presentations of short-shorts. Reading quiz: “A Brief
History of the Short Story” and “Why Do We Read Short Stories,” pp. xiii-xviii
in The Contemporary American Short Story.
Feb 05 Th – Reading quiz: “Janus” (CASS, 96). Presentations
Feb 10 Tu - Reading quiz: “The Things They Carried” (CASS, 422)
Presentations
Feb 12 Th –Writing
Assignment #2 due: the character sketch. (Models on the website:
“Tracey”
and “End of
the Rainbow”) Presentations.
Feb 17 Tu - Reading quiz: “The Rich Brother” (CASS, 546)
Presentations.
Feb 19 Th – Reading quiz: “The Elements of Fiction” (CASS, xiv)
Presentations
Feb 24 Tu –
Writing
Assignment #3 due: the monologue (Models on website:
“Sweet
Talk” “Sir
Scoops a Lot” )
Feb 26 Th –
Presentations. Reading quiz: “The Fat Girl” (CASS, 163)
Mar 03 Tu – Presentations. Writing Assignment #4: Notes and outline
for story based on the
Billie Sicard newspaper article
Mar 05 Th – Presentations In-class writing exercise
Mar 10 Tu – Spring Break
Mar 12 Th – Spring Break
Mar 17 Tu - Writing Assignment #5 due: Short story based on
character sketch or monologue
Mar 19 Th – Reading quiz: “Gravity” (CASS, 302)
Mar 24 Tu - Walk
Mar 26 Th – Critique of stories by James and Jessica
Mar 31 Tu - Reading quiz: stories from youth 1: “The Lesson” (CASS,
21)
Apr 02 Th – Reading quiz: stories from youth 2: “Fiesta, 1980”
(CASS, 151)
Apr 07 Tu -- Writing Assignment #6: revision of assignment #5 for
grade.
Apr 09 Th – Reading quiz: stories from childhood 3: “The Gryphon”
(CASS, 81) Presentations
Apr 14 Tu –
Writing
Assignment #7: A Tale From Childhood: short story in
first-person.
Apr 16 Th –Presentations
Apr 21 Tu - Reading quiz: stories from childhood 4: “The Monkey
Garden”
(CASS, 133) Presentations
Apr 23 Th –Presentations
Apr 28 Tu - Quiz: "The Third and Final Continent" (CASS,
283)
Apr 30 Th – Last class day.
Monday, May 4, 4 p.m.: Revised version of short story
(#7) due.