This class has two goals: to introduce students to the study of short fiction through intensive reading, and to familiarize students with strategies and methodologies for writing about literature. In our readings, we will explore formal issues such as tone, structure, and symbolism as well as social issues such as sexuality, race and gender. Moreover, this class focuses on ways of grappling with these big questions in writing, as literary scholars do. This class is offered in the first half of the fall semester.