全课程共分12单元,每单元包括两个部分:“小说要素”和“作品赏读”,前者是关于短篇小说/小说的一些理论知识,后者是具体文本的解读和评析,以前者引导后者,后者强化前者的概念,但中心是小说作品本身的赏读。课程的总体设计意图是将文学知识与作品赏析有机结合,帮助更好地理解作品,理解“短篇小说”这一广受欢迎的文类。“小说要素”包括短篇小说的定义与特征、作者-叙事者-读者、人物与人物塑造、背景与主题、故事与情结、象征与讽喻、浪漫主义小说、现实主义小说、自然主义小说、现代主义小说、后现代主义小说等方面;“作品赏读”部分每单元包括两篇短篇小说,其中一篇为解读对象,另一篇是附加作品,供课程学习者自己阅读和思考。
课程使用的短篇小说选自英国、美国、爱尔兰、新西兰等英语国家的代表作家,包括詹姆斯·乔伊斯、凯瑟琳·曼斯菲尔德、萨拉·朱厄特、杰克·伦敦、弗兰克·奥康纳、弗兰克·萨吉森等名家的名作,选择上注重思想性和可读性,排除语言古旧拗口的传统名篇。每一单元设有4个部分视频讲解,并附有理解题和讨论题。
课程通过介绍英语短篇小说的基本概念和相关文学流派的发展,鼓励学生对短篇小说进行文学阐释,并初步掌握文学解读的方法,拓展文学阅读的兴趣。
Unit 1 "Early Autumn"
Part 1: Elements of Fiction: What Is Short Story?
Part 2: Elements of Fiction: Literary and Non-literary Writings, the Difference
Part 3: Sample Reading and Interpretation
Part 4: Discussion: What Makes “Early Autumn” a Short Story?
Unit 1 测验
Unit 2 "A Piece of Yellow Soap"
Part 1: Elements of Fiction: The Author, the Narrator and the Reader
Part 2: Elements of Fiction: The Narrator
Part 3:Reading and Interpretation of the Story
Part 4: Function of the Narrator and the Artistic Effect
Unit 2 测验
Unit 3 “Miss Brill”
Part 1: Character and Characterization: Introduction
Part 2: Katherine Mansfield: Introduction
Part 3: “Miss Brill”: Analysis
Part 4: Characterization in “Miss Brill”
Unit 3 测验
Unit 4 “Discus Thrower”
Part 1: Elements of Fiction: The Setting and the Theme
Part 2: Richard Selzer and Medical Arts
Part 3: “The Discus Thrower”
Part 4: Setting and Theme in “The Discus Thrower”
Unit 4 测验
Unit 5 “A White Heron”
Part 1: Elements of Fiction: Story and Plot
Part 2: Sarah Orne Jewett: Introduction
Part 3: “A White Heron”: Analysis
Part 4: Plot in “A White Heron”
"A White Heron": Text
Unit 5 测验
Unit 6 “The Story of an Hour”
Part 1: Elements of Fiction: Irony
Part 2: Kate Chopin and the Historical Context of “The story of an Hour”
Part 3: “The Story of an Hour”: Analysis
Part 4: Irony in “The Story of an Hour”
Unit 6 测验
Unit 7 “Araby”
Part 1: Symbol: Introduction
Part 2: James Joyce: Introduction
Part 3: “Araby”: Analysis
Part 4: Symbol in “Araby”
Unit 7 测验
Unit 8 “The Lady, or the Tiger?”
Part 1: Elements of Fiction: Romantic Fiction
Part 2: Frank Stockton and “The Lady, or the Tiger?”
Part 3: Sample Reading and Interpretation
Part 4: Discussion: Romantic Characteristics of “The Lady, or the Tiger?”
Unit 8 测验
Unit 9 “Guests of the Nation”
Part 1: Elements of Fiction: Realistic Fiction
Part 2: Elements of Fiction: The Principal Ideas of Realism
Part 3: Reading and Discussion: “Guests of the Nation”
Part 4: Characteristics of Realism in “Guests of the Nation”
Unit 9 测验
Unit 10 “The Law of Life”
Part 1: Elements of Fiction: Naturalism
Part 2: Jack London and the Historical Context of“The Law of Life”
Part 3: “The Law of Life”: Analysis
Part 4: Naturalism in “The Law of Life”
Unit 10 测验
Unit 11 “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
Part 1: Elements of Fiction: Modernism the Concept
Part 2: James Thurber and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
Part 3: What is “the Secret Life” of Walter Mitty?
Part 4: Mordenist Fiction:The Secret Life of Walter Mitty?
Unit 11 测验
Unit 12 “The Glass Mountain”
Part 1: Elements of Fiction: Postmodernism
Part 2: Donald Barthelme and the Historical Context of“The Glass Mountain”
Part 3: “The Glass Mountain”: Analysis
Part 4: Postmodernism in “The Glass Mountain”
Unit 12 测验
本课程全英文授课,需要学习者具有较好的英语语言能力,并对英语小说感兴趣。