In this course（「英米小説講読」サック・タラス先生）, students read 10 of the 17 short stories from What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (1981) by Raymond Carver, one of the masters of the modern short story. All of the stories are related to the theme of love (or heartbreak). We try to read one story per week, and the instructor provides Reading Questions (or "RQs," which cover the basic elements of the story: setting, characters, plot) and Discussion Questions (or "DQs," which cover more abstract questions, such as the possible meaning of the story). In pairs or small groups, students practice reading aloud, then they discuss their answers to both RQs and DQs, before we go over the answers as a class. We also watch a movie and listen to songs that are related to the stories or their themes (love, loss, breaking up, etc.). Students are asked to write short response papers in English, including a final paper on one of the 7 stories that we did not cover in class, which they have to read independently. The goal is for the students to enjoy reading and discussing literature in English and to become independent learners.

（Text、in Japanese, translated by Murakami Haruki)