ADVANCED ACADEMIC ENGLISH 1

概要

In this class, we will read a selection of short stories that make up the 2009 collection Fugue State, by contemporary American author Brian Evenson. These stories explore human psychology through various states of consciousness that are outside the everyday. Some of them feel a bit like horror stories, but most of them are more psychological than grotesque, and often times things are implied and left for the reader to "puzzle out," rather than directly stated (or "shown" in terms of "action"). Although Evenson is not as well-known in Japan as in some other parts of the world (such as his native U.S., or France), he has gained a reputation as a writer of dark and thought-provoking work, not only as a writer of "Literature" with a capital "L," but also work that might be classified as Science Fiction or Horror. Some of his novels and short story collections have also been translated into Japanese. The student taking this class should have an open mind about the fluid nature of "genre," and we might also ask the question in this class: "Where do the boundaries between various genres, such as horror or science fiction, lie? What makes a work "literary" or simply "entertaining"? This collection is sure to change your ideas about genre, and perhaps about the very nature of reality or consciousness itself. Please join us if this sounds like something that might interest you.

目標

The primary objectives for this course will be to do close readings and analyses of Brian Evenson’s short fictions from the collection we will be reading from, Fugue State (2009). We will consider, in addition to other things, common themes found throughout the stories, POV (point-of-view), and how an "unreliable narration" (or narrator) may color our reading of a given text, genre (i.e. how to classify a story that may not seem to fit neatly into one or another category), and interpretation.

授業外の学習

Every student should do all assigned readings before coming to class every week. Further, on days when students are due to present, they should come to class prepared with a summary and/or questions, as assigned.

所要時間: 190 hours