This course will examine how a variety of writers have written about urban and rural issues in a selection of Scottish short stories. The set text, The Devil and the Giro, edited by Carl McDougall, contains stories relating to these themes from across two centuries, and so contrasts can be made as to how authors dealt with them. One proviso, though, is that the Scottish urban short story tends to be more of a twentieth century phenomenon and the rural stories come from both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

In this seven week course we will discuss anything from 2 to 4 stories each week: this is dependent on length and contrast. Also each week’s selection may contain a mixture of urban and rural so we will be able to compare and contrast how these are dealt with by the various authors.

By taking this course you will become familiar with the Scottish short story genre and be able to:

• examine the stories from a critical perspective;

• put the stories in a historical and social perspective;

• compare and contrast stories from different centuries and

• discuss objectively the themes and topics set out.

Also, you will develops valuable skills in on-line learning.

There are no entry requirements for this course save an interest in Scottish writing and a love of reading.

Reading and Resources
You will need to buy The Devil and the Giro, edited by Carl McDougall, published by Canongate Books and available through Amazon. Course notes are provided online and you will be directed to appropriate websites for further reading.

Online Forums
An integral part of the course are the forums to which you will be directed as part of the course. Here you will be set simple assignments and discussion topics to work through with your tutor and your fellow students.

You will spend between 2 to 4 hours a week on the course - and take a few minutes every other day to check what else is happening in the course.

There will be a 'live chat' during the course, at a time agreed to by the students.

Throughout the course you will be supported by your tutor. At any time you can communicate through e-mail directly, or you can raise your questions in the discussion forums where you will find the support of a fellow student. There is also a telephone helpline if you have technical problems.

You will need to buy The Devil and the Giro, edited by Carl McDougall, published by Canongate Books and available through Amazon. Course notes are provided online and you will be directed to appropriate websites for further reading.

Browser:
PC: All major current browsers.
Mac OS: Safari, and other major current browsers.

Network connection: 56K modem minimum.

Desirable, but not essential: a digital camera

David Hastie

David graduated from Aberdeen University in 1995 with an MA in English and Scottish Literature. He is an experience tutor, working until recently at the Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of Aberdeen. He nows lives and works in Denmark in the Faculty of Humanities, Syddansk Universitet, where he continues with his passion for Scottish literature - and learning to play golf.

The course is an excellent introduction to literature and Scottish literature in particular. But more than that it will give students a first-class understanding of not only the huge range of Scottish literature, but also the technical aspects of narratology as used in all prose literature, and indeed poetry.

So, anyone who completes this course can go and start a college or university literature course fully armed, as it were, with the basics-and maybe even more.