HS 431 Reading Fiction

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Course Instructor: Sudha Shastri

Course Name: HS 431 Reading Fiction
Course Credits: 6
Course Type:  Honours Elective
Prerequisite: No formal prerequisites but having done some amount of reading in English literature will help you appreciate the course better. Also, a decent hold on English will help you score well.
Course Content:
We started with short stories. We did one in each class. We were given time to read it and then there were discussions. This made every class complete in itself and also led to an introduction of a new concept by the prof. The short stories were by Kafka, Somerset Maugham, Saki, Kipling, Borges, etc.
After a few classes we did the following: Midnight's children by Salman Rushdie, A Midsummer Night's Dream by Neil Gaiman (a graphic novel), Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, Animal Farm by George Orwell, Run Lola Run (a movie)
The topics covered through the analysis of these works were roughly: Realism, modernism, postmodernism, magical realism, etc. Narrative styles, self-reflexivity, ontological clashes, free indirect discourse, etc. There were some sparse discussions on philosophy, history and language.
Course Structure:
  1. There was no strict attendance policy but the class had only 9 students and the Prof. would notice (and reprimand/threaten) you for missing classes. Discussions were very enjoyable and the Prof was very articulate, very well-versed in her subject and very encouraging (though could be impatient or irritable at times). 
  2. No assignments but we had to read on our own after every class (about one or two chapters).
  3. We had two quizzes. Weightages: 10, 30, 10, 50. 1st quiz on a short story. Midsem on a short story plus Midnight's children. 2nd quiz on an extract from a graphic novel. Endsem on a short story plus the other four books.
Pro Tips:
Make sure you do the appropriate reading before every class. Attend the lectures obviously. Before the exams it might be useful to randomly search for reviews and articles on the books covered. It helps you recall what the book was about and gives you ideas.
Personal Comments:
Take this course only if you are interested in literature in my opinion.
Respondent: Abhijeet Melkani

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