COLLOQUIUM: Roberta Stewart, Dartmouth, "War Stories, from Troy to Baghdad (and beyond): Reading Homer with Combat Veterans"

Thursday, March 26, 2015 - 4:30pm to 6:00pm

402 Cohen Hall, Department of Classical Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 249 South 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA. 19104

Roberta Stewart presents the work of an experimental reading course, a book group, designed for combat veterans. Since 2008 she has read Homer, Odyssey and Iliad, with combat veterans and used the ancient texts to explore the soldier's experience of combat and return from war. The talk will summarize the course (its premises, design, logistics, and sessions), explore the particular value of Homer, and suggest next steps for reading ancient literature with vets.