| Unit name | Literary Journeys |
|---|---|
| Unit code | CLAS32356 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Zajko |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
none |
| Co-requisites |
none |
| School/department | Department of Classics & Ancient History |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The idea of the journey is central to many of the canonical works of the Western literary tradition. Beginning with Homer, where the Odyssey can be said to depict the return home that is constantly flirted with in the Iliad, the journey has come to symbolise the progress through time and space of the human self as it travels toward death, acquiring knowledge and experience along the way. This unit will examine some of the ways writers and poets have exploited the metaphor of the journey to dramatise the process of the acquisition of self knowledge. Themes we shall discuss will include the descent into hell, the concept of home, the reader as traveller, and the process of allegorisation.
