Narratives of Return

This course combines history, literature and film to explore the complex question of return — as fantasy, policy, horizon, paradox, temporary practice or new departure. Drawing largely on Francophone and Arab perspectives, we will delve into the history of displacement and migrations, nostalgia and hauntings, to explore the many figures of return: the exile, the soldier, the transfuge, the impostor… We will range widely in time and space, from the Odyssey to Dahomey, from Martin Guerre to Ghassan Kanafani. We will study the shifting politics and affects that have attended ideas of return, from ancient arcadias to immigrant communities and repatriated works of art. Co-taught by a historian and a poet and featuring guest speakers and practitioners, this seminar offers a truly interdisciplinary approach to one of the most vexed questions of our time.