Modernism, Postmodernism, and Beyond (Ü/PS Köhler, WiSe 23/24)

Prof. Dr. Angelika Köhler
Thu (4), W48/003

Throughout the 20th century, the American Short Story increasingly developed into a genre of experimentation with forms of literary mediation, thus reshaping the most powerful traditions of short story writing. Reading and analyzing a variety of short stories written in the 20th and 21st centuries against the background of the traditional formalist concept of the American Short Story as a compressed, unified and plotted narrative, we want to explore how these texts, first, revise notions of totality, brevity, intensity, suggestiveness and unity of effect and, second, negotiate the increasingly complex and multifaceted experiences of contemporary life. We will negotiate these moments as empowering strategies for the short story to develop into a literary form well adapted to construct images of the constantly changing and frequently fragmented conditions of American culture in these centuries.

Image: Gertrude Stein (source)