Course Description: Stories of the Modern South
The course will address the complexity of post-bellum Southern literature by reading short stories from the 1930s through the 1990s. We will discuss the distinct regional, racial, and gendered voices of the American South, as well as the abiding influences of cultural mythologies and folk traditions, and the cultural and aesthetic tenets of such movements as Agrarianism and Modernism. We will read some of the great masters of the short story form, beginning with William Faulkner and Carson McCullers, and with special emphasis on the work of two living writers: modernist Eudora Welty and postmodernist Barry Hannah.

Syllabus:
TEXTS:
Ben Forkner & Patrick Samway, S.J., eds., Stories of the Modern South (Rev. ed., 1995)
Eudora Welty, The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty (1980)
Barry Hannah, High Lonesome (1996)

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: This class will feature lecture, discussion, reading performance, and writing; it will require some group work and two short (3- to 4-page) formal papers using critical sources. For the papers, use MLA style, i.e., with parenthetical page references in the text (no footnotes) and a Works Cited page. The UTM library is available to you, and I have placed a few books on reserve to insure their availability to all. One paper must be at least partly on Eudora Welty. Read all assignments for a given day before coming to class, and be ready to discuss them, read aloud from them, and/or write about them in class, in ink, s.v.p. (Note the exceptions on June 25 and July 2, when you have papers due; but bring your texts.) Outside papers should be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font. Looking forward to our performance July 12 in a "Readers' Theater," we will give special attention to "voice" in each story.

Week One: Literature of the 1930s-1940s
Mon., June 18
Introduction to the Literature of the American South
Tues., June 19
1936 F&S: Carson McCullers, "The Sojourner" from The Ballad of the Sad Café & Others
1940 F&S: William Faulkner, "Pantaloon in Black" from Go Down, Moses
Wed., June 20
1941 Eudora Welty, Collected Stories: "Lily Daw and the Three Ladies," and
Welty, CS: "Why I Live at the P.O."from A Curtain of Green [Welty on audiotape]
Thurs., June 21
1949 READERS' THEATER IN CLASS:Welty, CS: "Powerhouse" from A Curtain of Green
1943 Welty, CS or F&S: "The Wide Net" from The Wide Net and Other Stories
Fri., June 22
1947 F&S: Robert Penn Warren, "Blackberry Winter" from The Circus in the Attic & etc.

Week Two: Literature of the 1940s-50s

Mon., June 25: PAPER # ONE DUE : a thematic comparison of two stories
1941 Welty, CS: "A Worn Path" [videotape]
Tues., June 26
1949 Welty, CS: "Moon Lake" from The Golden Apples
Wed., June 27
1954 F&S: Madison Jones, "The Fugitives" [first published in The Sewanee Review]
Thurs., June 28
1955 Welty, CS: "The Burning," from The Bride of the Innisfallen and Other...
Fri., June 29
1955 Welty, CS: "Circe" from The Bride of the Innisfallen & etc...
1955 F&S: Flannery O'Connor, "Good Country People" from A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Week Three: Literature of the 1960s -1970s

Mon., July 2: PAPER TWO DUE: open topic
Lecture on Modernism and Postmodernism
Tues., July 3
1960 F&S: Caroline Gordon, "The Brilliant Leaves" from Collected Stories of Gordon
1963 Welty, CS: "Where Is the Voice Coming From?"
Wed., July 4
1963 F&S: Ernest Gaines, "The Sky is Gray" from Bloodline
Thurs., July 5
1968 F&S: Alice Walker, "Strong Horse Tea" from In Love and Trouble
1970 F&S: Barry Hannah, "Testimony of Pilot" from Airships (237-50)
Fri., July 6
1970 F&S: Barry Hannah, "Testimony of Pilot" (250-61)

Week Four: Literature of the 1980s-1990s

Mon., July 9
1982 F&S: Fred Chappell, "Blue Dive" from Moments of Light
Tues., July 10
1996 Barry Hannah, High Lonesome: "A Creature in the Bay of St. Louis"
Wed., July 11
1996 Hannah, HL: "Uncle High Lonesome"
Thurs., July 12: Final (dress) rehearsal for class presentation of Welty's "Why I Live at the P.O." at 11:30 A.M. today in Humanities Auditorium!
Fri., July 13: Final Class: Hannah, HL, "Get Some Young" and "Taste Like a Sword"