SF-1143 In the First-Person: Storytelling in the 21st Century
This section of the Seminar for Freshmen will consider the forms, venues, and impacts of narrative nonfiction in contemporary culture. From the exploding popularity of personal essays in the digital age to the living, evolving essays we create on social media, we are constantly narrating and archiving our lives, shaping their content for specific audiences. In doing so, we shape what our experiences mean and represent. In order to analyze the power of narrative nonfiction, we will look at a variety of multimodal texts: essays, podcasts, Instagram and Twitter feeds, stand-up comedy, and storytelling slams, as well historical texts such as the essays of Michel de Montaigne and historical artifacts at the National Archives in Boston. We will also write our own narrative nonfiction, and adapt our first-person stories for listening and viewing audiences, such as the MassMouth story slam and podcasts like This American Life. Additionally, we will practice narrative nonfiction for professional audiences, using storytelling as a way to showcase personal strengths to employers, internship coordinators, and the like.