First-Year Writing Seminar (101-8-1)
Topic
Endless Exile: Home and Homelessness in the Ancien
Instructors
German Campos-Munoz
Meeting Info
University Library 4670: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
The topic of exile—the forced abandonment of the place and world one calls home—captured the imagination of peoples across the ancient Mediterranean. The Greek [Odyssey] and Roman [Aeneid], famous accounts of the predicaments of classical exile, were by no means isolated instances. These renowned poems were in conversation with narratives that circulated widely among neighboring Egyptian, Hebrew, Babylonian, Phoenician, and other ancient communities, in stories which not only produced echoes among themselves, but very likely borrowed from each other. In this seminar, we will read and discuss representative accounts of exile from the ancient Mediterranean world, highlighting their historical and geographical specificity but also reflecting on their treatment of common concerns and themes—such as homelessness and hospitality, longing and belonging, identity and otherness, hosts and guests, refugees and havens, pain and nostalgia, presence and absence, etc. While the seminar will highlight the historical and archaeological coordinates of those narratives, we will also reflect upon their relevance in discussing the very current reality of exilic life in today's world.
As a first-year seminar, this course is meant to hone your abilities in the practice of academic writing. The activities for the seminar address this goal by implementing peer-review processes and exploring different writing techniques and sequences.
Class Materials (Required)
Puchner, Martin, et al. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Volume A. Fourth Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2018. ISBN: 9780393602814
Class Attributes
WCAS Writing Seminar