Semester 2

Wednesday, 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. Room 1.26

Short Fiction across the Atlantic: Theories and Practice
Cristina Almeida Ribeiro

This seminar will  focus on the poetics of short narrative in its multiple interpretations by authors, theorists and critics from both sides of the Atlantic, from 1950 onwards. Dealing mostly with American, Spanish American and Spanish references, it will examine different genres, from the short story to flash fiction, and the ways they conceive brevity, display technical virtuosity and explore the potentialities of language, reinterpret the relationship between ethics and aesthetics and, in a number of cases, rewrite tradition. The critical reading of short narratives, paratexts and essays will allow the discussion of topics such as genre patterns, hybridization phenomena, collection modalities, and the autonomy and interdependence of texts within a collection, from casual volumes to short story cycles and composite novels.