Genre Fiction Workshop
This MIT OpenCourseWare workshop examines genre fiction as a set of agreements between reader and writer, exploring how genres split into subgenres and combine into cross-genre work. Discussion covers the emergence of new genres like steampunk and preternatural romance, alongside established subgenres such as historical mystery and urban fantasy, always returning to what the course calls the Reader-Writer Contract at the heart of genre writing. Materials include the syllabus, reading lists, and writing assignments used in MIT's Comparative Media Studies/Writing program, structured as a workshop where students analyze published genre texts and produce their own genre fiction for critique. The course is free to access through MIT OpenCourseWare, with no certificate offered, since OCW publishes course materials rather than a certified learning platform.