"Odysseus on Angel
Island" by Katherine Lu Hsu, Assistant Professor of Classics, College
of the Holy Cross
In this talk, Hsu will read Odyssey 5 as an account
of a detained migrant, in dialogue with poetry by would-be Chinese immigrants
written on the walls of Angel Island (a federal detention center in San
Francisco Harbor) during the Exclusion Era (1910-1940). In bringing together
Greek myth, Asian American history, and migration studies, we will gain new
insights into Odysseus’ narrative and a deeper appreciation for the epic
journeys of modern migrants.