Readings in a range of short stories by modern writers (fromthe late 19th to early 21st centuries) in a variety of genres: realist fiction, detective fiction, science fiction, modernist and postmodern fiction, and hypertext fiction. We’ll focus on what makes the “modern” short story “modern” in theme, in historical context, or in aesthetic approach. As we think about questions of form and genre, we will also study two collections of stories—Joyce's Dubliners and Tiphanie Yanique’s How to Escape from a Leper Colony—considering how their authors build discrete tales into coherent wholes. In addition to active participation, coursework will include: two papers (4+ pages and 6+ pages), a presentation, a midterm essay exam collaboratively written by the class, and a final exam dictatorially written by the professor.