L204 2510 INTRODUCTION TO FICTION
Romayne Rubinas Dorsey

9:30a-10:20a D (25 students) 3 cr., A&H, IW.

In this Intensive Writing course, we will also do a good deal of
intensive reading: of fiction old and new, serious and
funny, “popular” and “difficult,” written for a wide range of
audiences. Many consider reading for pleasure and reading
analytically to be two different activities, but through
investigations of plot, character, point of view, symbolism and
other narrative elements, we will challenge this opposition,
exploring the pleasures of literary interpretation. Students will
typically read one novel a week, or one or two short stories each
day as well as occasional supplemental critical material; write four
essays over the course of the semester, three of which will go
through drafting processes where you will give and receive detailed
peer critiques of paper drafts; and take two in-class essay exams. I
reserve the right to institute regular reading quizzes should
discussion reflect a need. All written assignments will be evaluated
with close attention to organization and expression as well as to
substance and argument.  Graded revisions of three of the four
course papers is a requirement of the course.