Arts & Science Lecture in Classics: Emily Greenwood

Join us in welcoming Dr. Emily Greenwood (Harvard), who will be giving a lecture titled "Odysseus at the Bag Check: Greek Myth and Immigration in Contemporary Poetry”.

There is plenty for the postcolonial poet not to like about Homer’s Odysseus. Odysseus has more than a touch of the proto-colonizer about him, but his experiences as a wandering exile have also made him a fellow-traveller for minoritized immigrant poets who fail real and metaphorical bag checks. This lecture will explore the role of Odysseus and other characters from ancient Greek myth as privileged, fast-tracked fellow-travellers in contemporary poetry about immigrant and refugee experiences. The recycling of these characters offers interesting insights into the cultural exchange value of Classics in the wreckage of modernity. The lecture will include discussion of poems by Dionne Brand, Vahni Capildeo, Marlene NourbeSe Philip, Ocean Vuong, and Monica Youn.

Schedule

4:00 - 5:30PM - Lecture

5:30 - 6:30PM - Reception