Reading Fiction: Dysfunctional Families
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this literature seminar built around a single thematic lens: fictional families that fail in interesting ways. Readings draw from novels and short stories chosen to test how structure, language, narrative point of view, and characterization work together, with dysfunction as the throughline rather than a single period or nationality. Materials include the syllabus, a reading list, and assignment prompts used in the original MIT course, geared toward close reading and written analysis rather than survey-style lecture. Students examine how form and content interact, for instance how an unreliable narrator or fragmented timeline can mirror a broken household. No video lectures are included, since this is a self-paced OCW course built from course materials rather than filmed classes. Free to access, with no certificate offered, in keeping with MIT OpenCourseWare's standard model.