Writing and Experience: MIT, Inside and Live
A writing seminar from MIT's Comparative Media Studies/Writing program that turns students' own campus lives into source material. Participants chronicle their day-to-day MIT experiences while researching the Institute's history and culture, using visits to the MIT archives and the MIT Museum alongside assigned readings to ground their essays in primary documents rather than general impressions. Class sessions center on discussion of drafts and on how personal narrative can be layered with institutional history. The course materials, available through MIT OpenCourseWare, include the syllabus, reading list, and writing assignments used in the actual seminar. There is no certificate, and no cost to access or use the materials, consistent with OCW's standard open license terms. Best suited to anyone interested in memoir-style nonfiction writing or in how a place's archives can inform personal storytelling.