Writing Fiction About Families

Writing Fiction About Families is an Interdisciplinary Arts class taught by Nathalie Arnold.

Course Description
The tension between what families "should" and what they can "actually" be is a central feature in fiction about family; the mechanics of expectation, disappointment, comfort, love, fear, and multifarious experiences that can characterize "real" family life is part of what makes stories about family so compelling. Through close readings and the critique of contemporary feature films in which "the family" is central, as well as reflexive work in which students examine their own ideas about "family," we will write about some of the relationships and experiences that most intimately contribute to a person's identity and world-view. In addition to in-class exercises, including the construction of "real" and "fictional" kinship charts, students will produce 4 short pieces of fiction that examine familial situations from the perspectives of the different participants (for example, child, parent, grandparent, foster sibling). One of these will be revised and polished after small group workshops.

Learning Goals

 * Expressive
 * Project-based
 * Presenting
 * Reading
 * Writing