While the western European classics may not generally seem to be important reference points for contemporary writers, the Odyssey—either in its entirety or by way of individual episodes—has become an ... Lesen Sie weiter
While the western European classics may not generally seem to be important reference points for contemporary writers, the Odyssey—either in its entirety or by way of individual episodes—has become an important intertext for recent novels and films. In this seminar, we shall investigate how different recent adaptations engage with the classical nostos epic. During the semester, we will discuss the following reworkings of Homer’s Odyssey: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen’s film O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Bernardine Evaristo’s The Emperor’s Babe (2001), Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad (2005), and Amor Towles’s The Lincoln Highway (2021). Students should be familiar with Homer’s Odyssey by the beginning of the semester; I recommend Emily Wilson’s recent (paperback) verse translation (Norton, 2018), but there are countless other translations available, some of them online.
