Writing World Families: Tutorial in Inclusive Fiction

Writing World Families: Tutorial in Inclusive Fiction is an Interdisciplinary Arts tutorial taught by Nathalie Arnold.

Course Description
Stories about families, wherever and whenever they are set, speak to universal questions about security, authority, freedom, biology, sexuality, and respect. In any society, tensions exist between what families 'ought to be' and what they can 'actually' be. This course will focus on international and U.S. writing about families in flux, in which 'the family' -- and questions about its very nature-- are central. Students will examine their own preconceptions about family, and ask: how are families constituted? What can divorce bring about? How does death transform the living? What is the impact of global motion on parents and children? What happens when a family member's life-goals differ from those of her spouse, parents, or siblings? Through focused writing exercises, short papers, and story-writing, and, drawing in part on their own experiences but, more importantly, actively 'making things up,' students will explore the power of invention and the complexity of the human relationships that are often most familiar to us all.