Literature of Migration

Catalog description

This course traces the theme of migration from the sixth century B.C.E. to the present and examines foundational, modern, and contemporary versions of migration experiences. Readings include scripture, epic and lyric poetry, epigrams and aphorisms, autobiography, reportage, documentary photography and film as well as fiction and examples of creative work in photography, film, and the visual arts. How has the process of migration been imagined and how have migrants and migration been represented in literature and visual arts, whether produced by migrants themselves or by others? What are the commonplaces (topoi) associated with migration, from fearing to yearning to be elsewhere and from nostalgia for the home (nostos) to making a home elsewhere? How has the emergence of migration literature (at times located between countries and languages) affected both national literary histories and notions of world literature? Works and even words (including the term "migration") have also migrated, and so the course will pay some attention to "wanderwords" and to translation as an intrinsic part of the cultural history of migration.