Module: Introduction to Fiction:Short Story and Novel

Module Specifications..

Current Academic Year 2023 - 2024

Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title	Introduction to Fiction:Short Story and Novel
Module Code	EL101
School	67
Module Co-ordinator	Semester 1: Jim Shanahan Semester 2: Jim Shanahan Autumn: Jim Shanahan
Module Teachers	Jim Shanahan Jennifer Mooney
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5
Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

None

Description

This module studies both generic issues and the nature of fiction in relation to the short story and the novel. It defines key concepts and theories of fiction and shows the development of those concepts as the forms developed in Britain, Ireland and America from the early eighteenth-century to the contemporary moment. The module will trace the development of the novel considering its relationship to history, realism and fantasy. The relationship between the centrality of individual characters to the wider issues of nation and community will be explored. A chronological overview of the short story will be provided with a focus on the most prominent practitioners of the form from different countries. The course concentrates on the form of short fiction and looks at its different characteristics including the following: unity of impression, narrative voice; tributary forms such as the fairytale; the contention that the short story deals with marginal figures of society, ‘submerged population groups’.

Learning Outcomes

1. Engage closely with primary texts.
2. Understand a range of methods and a critical language that will help analyse prose fiction in the short story form and the novel form.
3. Recognise the form of short fiction and its development from the early nineteenth century up until the present day.
4. Recognise the form of the novel and its development from the early eighteenth century up until the present day.
5. Distinguish genre and characteristics of the short story and the novel
6. Understand the national contexts: Irish, British, and American, which influences the forms of fiction.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full-time hours per semester
Lecture	21	Lectures
Tutorial	3	Tutorials
Independent Study	101	Independent Learning
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Daniel Defoe

Jane Austen

Charles Dickens

Richard Ford

Katherine Mansfield

Frank O'Connor

E.A. Poe

James Joyce

Herman Melville

Patrick McCabe

Alice Walker

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	30%	Examination Weight	70%

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Course Work Breakdown
Essay	Essay	25%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; 1 = A resit is available for all components of the module 2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module 3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

Eagleton, Terry.: 2005, The English Novel: An Introduction, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford,
Dorothy J. Hale: 2006, The Novel: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory 1900-2000, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford,
Moretti, Franco: 2006, The Novel: Volume I: History, Geography, and Culture, Princeton University Press, Princeton,
Moretti, Franco: 2006, The Novel: Volume 2: Forms and Themes, Princeton University Press, Princeton,
Ian Watt: 1981, The rise of the novel: studies in Defoe, Richardson and Fielding, London,
Walter Allen’s: 1981, The Short Story in English, London,
Charles May: 2002, The Short Story: The Reality of Artifice, London,
Frank O’Connor: 1962, The Lonely Voice, Cleveland,
Sean O’Faolain: 1948, The Short Story, London,
Valerie Shaw: 1983, The Short Story: A Critical Introduction., New York,

Other Resources

None

Programme or List of Programmes

AFU	Age Friendly University Programme
BAJH	Bachelor of Arts (BAJH)
BAJM	Bachelor of Arts (BAJM)
SMPHSS	Single Module Programme (Hum Soc Sci)

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