ENGL6018 · English

Seminar: Intimate Narratives

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

How does literature invite us into the intimate and sometimes messy emotional dynamics of human relationships? This seminar will explore the depiction of family dynamics and romantic bonds in narratives of the last century, including <i>To the Lighthouse, As I Lay Dying, White Noise,</i> and <i>Fun Home</i>. We will consider how intimate relationships are shaped by consumerism, disaster, grief, violence, poverty, race, aging, romantic ideals, and domestic space. In-class presentations will focus on film and television portrayals of family relationships. Final projects will analyze a literary or visual narrative and reimagine its portrayal of intimacy in a short literary or video scene. This seminar is open to juniors and seniors, especially those fascinated by the way that stories probe the depths of human character and shape our assumptions about how we relate to one another.