Module: Introduction to Fiction: Short Story & Novel

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Introduction to Fiction: Short Story & Novel
Module Code	LIT1017 (ITS: EL101)
Faculty	English	School	Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

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

Section Breakdown
CRN	10936	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	James Shanahan	Module Teacher

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Essay	Essay	25%	n/a
Formal Examination	End-of-Semester Final Examination	75%	End-of-Semester

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

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

Indicative Reading List

Books:

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 Allenâ€™s: 1981, The Short Story in English, London,
Charles May: 2002, The Short Story: The Reality of Artifice, London,
Frank Oâ€™Connor: 1962, The Lonely Voice, Cleveland,
Sean Oâ€™Faolain: 1948, The Short Story, London,
Valerie Shaw: 1983, The Short Story: A Critical Introduction., New York,

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None