Course Syllabus

ENGL 2220 Introduction to Fiction

Course Description

This course is an introduction to fiction, primarily short stories and novels. The course emphasizes literary traditions, historical time periods, various authors, careful reading, literary analysis, and thoughtful interpretation.

Justification

This course offers a general education opportunity to students who would like to come to a greater intellectual and visceral appreciation of written works. This course provides a useful introduction to literature for all non-English majors as well as English majors.

General Education Outcomes

1. A student who completes the GE curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures and the natural world. Students will read, discuss, and analyze a representative selection of culturally significant short stories and novels.
2. A student who completes the GE curriculum can read and research effectively within disciplines. Students read and analyze primary literary texts, short stories, and novels. They will also research the context, authors, cultural context, etc., of what they read.
3. A student who completes the GE curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines to address complex problems. To read and analyze literary works, students will draw from other disciplines such as history, sociology, economics, and geography, among others.
4. A student who completes the GE curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively. Students critically evaluate rhetorical choices the author makes in order to understand and interpret the literature. Students explore the development of ideas and movements in literature as reflected through a representative selection of short stories and novels.
5. A student who completes the GE curriculum can communicate effectively through writing and speaking. Students write on a regular basis demonstrating the validity of various theses in writing assignments. Writing assignments are designed around the collaborative model and incorporate all elements of the writing process.

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes

1. Through the study of a representative selection of short stories and novels, students will examine how fiction expresses the human condition. Through the study of a representative selection of short stories and novels, students will examine how fiction expresses the human condition.
2. EXPLAIN: Explain how humanities artifacts take on meaning within networks or systems (such as languages, cultures, values, and worldviews) that account for the complexities and uncertainties of the human condition. Through the practice of close reading and literary analysis of fiction, students will explore the meaning of fiction within the context of culture, worldviews, etc. Students will be able explain how such things as history, audience, authorial choices in relation to the text, and personal biases help us better understand the complexities and uncertainties of the human condition.
3. ANALYZE: Analyze humanities artifacts according to humanities methodologies, such as a close analysis, questioning, reasoning, interpretation, and critical thinking. Students will read, interpret, analyze, and respond to a representative selection of primary literary texts, particularly short stories and novels. They may consider these texts in light of basic literary theories, such as new criticism, psychoanalysis, or deconstruction.
   
   
4. COMPARE AND CONTRAST: Compare and contrast diverse humanistic perspectives across cultures, communities, and/or time periods to explain how people make meaning of their lives. Students will compare and contrast the perspectives of cultural traditions that produced and that are represented in short stories and novels. They will also be able to discuss fiction in historical and cultural context and be able to articulate how people make meaning of their lives.

Course Content

This course covers a representative sample of short stories and novels in English from a variety of literary traditions and historical time periods. Instructors will choose readings by authors of a variety of backgrounds, styles, and perspectives. Other fiction genres, such as graphic novels or web-based fiction, may also be covered. The course focuses on close reading, literary conventions, historical influences, contextual and textual analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and critical thinking and writing.Course typically includes a review of or introduction to major literary terminology related to fiction (character, setting, plot, etc.) and may include a general introduction to basic literary theory.