Storytelling and Mythmaking: Modern Odysseys

Homer's Odyssey inspired some of the major literary works of the twentieth century, including James Joyce's Ulysses, Derek Walcott's Omeros, Louise Gluck's Meadowlands, and key chapters from Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. T.S. Eliot identified this strategy of literary adaptation, which manipulates "a continuous parallel between contemporaneity and antiquity," as the "mythical method." In our class, we'll practice this mythical method ourselves, reading Homer's epic alongside these modern retellings to study theories of narrative and craft our own creative projects. In addition to the texts listed above, readings include Junot Diaz's Drown, Madeline Miller's Circe, Margaret Atwood's Penelopiad, and Daniel Mendelsohn's An Odyssey. Students will also meet one or two creative professionals working in literature or film.