Bestsellers: The Memoir
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this literature seminar on memoir as a form, examining how writers turn a life into narrative and how personal experience intersects with social and historical themes. Readings include Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life, Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father, Edwidge Danticat's Brother, I'm Dying, Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel, and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home. Class sessions center on close reading and group discussion of these texts, comparing memoir against biography and autobiography as related but distinct forms. Coursework consists of two short papers, one a critical essay analyzing a chosen memoir and the other an original piece of memoir writing, giving students practice in both analysis and the craft itself. Designed as a compact six-unit sampling course, it also builds research and presentation skills. Materials include the syllabus, reading list, and assignment prompts, freely available through MIT OpenCourseWare.