This free class aims to provide students with an introduction to four key American women engaged in short story writing in the immediate aftermath of 1945. Students can expect to gain a brief overview of the lives and works of Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor, Shirley Jackson, and Joyce Carol Oates, and understand how their contribution to literature helped to shape the cultural output of the latter half of the twentieth-century. In the second half of the session, we will look more closely at 'A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud' (1942) by Carson McCullers and the tutor will guide students through the short story, illustrating key methods and techniques you can use to approach and analyse short stories independently. This free taster class is a pre-cursor to a three week course (C2228297) in which students can expect to read short stories by Flannery O'Connor, Shirley Jackson, and Joyce Carol Oates, offer their own analyses and interpretations, and discuss their thoughts with their peers.
Course aim
This free class aims to provide an introduction to four key American women engaged in short story writing in the immediate aftermath of 1945 and methods to help analyse short stories, using Carson McCullers' 'A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud' (1942).
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- This course is for beginners and improvers
- Complete pre-course reading ('A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud.' by Carson McCullers, which can be found on the 'Modules' tab on your Canvas course page.)
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- Establish a basic knowledge of the American women experimenting with the short story form in the immediate aftermath of 1945.
- Illustrate a basic understanding of how to approach and analyse a short story using terms such as structure, style, and language.
- Demonstrate an understanding of Carson McCullers' contribution to American post-war literature.
- Develop the confidence to offer opinions and interpretations in a class setting.
What else do I need to know?
A free PDF copy of the short story we will be working with (Carson McCullers' 'A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud') will be available on the 'Modules' tab on your Canvas course page.
View full course information sheet
