English 221 World Literature: Odysseys

W 6:45-9:15

Prof. Sarah Peterson

speterson@rollins.edu

Orlando 112

Office phone ext. 2126

Homer’s The Odyssey prevails as a central work in the literary canon. We find remnants and reinterpretations of its themes, characters, form, and voice in literature (and art) created across time and space. This course will explore a seminal text as well as numerous works that exist in conversation with it to gain insight into a range of literary traditions. We will trace the way authors call on and borrow from Homer to tell their own unique stories. As we come to identify the legacies of The Odyssey, we will also come to better understand the specific relationship of a text to the time and place in which it is produced.

Texts

Atwood, Margaret The Penelopiad

Homer, The Odyssey

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia, The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor

Walcott, Derek, Omeros

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