In this course we will read literary, philosophical, and scholarly works that explore stories and storytelling. Some of the questions we will consider are: what makes a story a story? What are its building blocks? How does it matter if a story is told in verse or prose, in a book or onstage, orally or in print? What human, personal, and societal needs are served by telling and consuming stories? How do literary texts incorporate or represent the activities of telling stories and of listening to, reading, and watching them? We will define and examine foundational aspects of literary narration, including first-person and third-person narrators, events, plot, voice, and setting and worldbuilding. We will also practice and develop skills in literary analysis and interpretive, scholarly writing. |