Registration Deadline: The Odyssey – Exploring Homer’s Epic Poem

The Odyssey, an epic poem attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer, is a cornerstone of Western literature. This fall, with Morrin Centre member and discussion facilitator Greg Campbell, we will explore a selection of episodes, themes, and characters of the poem. Join us for this series of four inspiring seminar-style meetings!

Schedule

From now until August 28: Registration period

• Wednesday, September 3, from 7 to 9 p.m. – 1^st meeting
• Wednesday, September 17, from 7 to 9 p.m. – 2^nd meeting
• Wednesday, October 1, from 7 to 9 p.m. – 3^rd meeting
• Wednesday, October 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. – 4^th meeting (date and time subject to change, depending on participants’ availability)

About the Registration

• Please register well in advance. After registration, you will receive information and materials to read before the first meeting.
• By booking a place for September 3, you are automatically registered for the full four-part workshop. September 3 attendance is required to attend the other three sessions.
• Copies of Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey (Norton, 2018) can be purchased through the bookstore La Maison Anglaise, click here to find out more.
• If you have any questions, please email at cultural.programming@morrin.org

Discussion Themes

• 1^st meeting

Homer and epic poetry; myth; form and content; the ancient Greeks; The Iliad; society and norms; slavery; the Gods; the text: meter, structure and inconsistencies; oral and written traditions; bards; repetition and pairings; the birth of self-consciousness?; why do we still read the book?

• 2^nd meeting

Odysseus: character; rationality; cunning; interiority; loyalty; goals; duplicity; vanity; seeker; no-one; adventures; storyteller; relation to the Gods; Athena; individuality; self-control.

• 3^rd meeting

Role and portrayal of women: Penelope; Circe; Calypso; Clytemnestra; Helen; Andromache; the Sirens; sexual slavery; Athena; Aphrodite; Casandra; Eurycleia; the maids/servants;

• 4^th meeting

Social aspects: the self and others; religion; love and loss; home; journey and return; loyalty; justice, punishment and vengeance; hospitality; duty; the state vs the self; trust and mistrust; patriarchy; work and struggle; moving away from myth.

Discussion Facilitator

Greg Campbell trained as a pharmacist before returning to college to study philosophy and history of ideas. Having completed a Masters degree at Essex University in the UK and obtained his doctorate in philosophy from University College Dublin in Ireland, he undertook a post-doctorate at Columbia University, New York (aesthetics and politics in Adorno). During his studies, Greg continued to work part-time as a pharmacist. In addition to teaching a humanities course at Wilbur Smith College, Greg was also a stay-at-home dad for a while after moving to Chicago in 2014.

The Odyssey: Greg has returned to the text several times since moving to Quebec City with his family in 2020, deepening his knowledge and appreciation of the story and its multiple meanings, which he is looking forward to sharing with a wider community.