In addition to exploring the formal and thematic variety of the genre of the short story, this course will examine its utility in conveying the life experiences and insights of 20th-century American women writers. We will read their works in light of historical events and feminism鈥檚 evolution in the United States, explore how their writings address gender and depict domestic lives and familial relations, and consider their respective use of the short story鈥檚 hallmark brevity and concision in rendering the experiences of everyday life. (Consider Lydia Davis鈥檚 story, 鈥淓xample of the Continuing Past Tense in a Hotel Room鈥, as an example of such brevity. Its single sentence reads: 鈥淵our housekeeper has been Shelly.鈥) Authors studied include: Zora Neale Hurston, Dorothy Parker, Grace Paley, Lucia Berlin, Lydia Davis, Jhumpa Lahiri, Catherine Lacey, and Ay艧e Papatya Bucak.
