W24 Migrant Writers syllabus.docx
Every year millions of people leave their homelands hoping to start their lives somewhere else. For some of them, it is a life-and-death decision, because they are fleeing murderous regimes, economic precarity, or climate change, while for others it is about career advancement or personal enrichment. Many migrants write about their experience, documenting the heartache of leaving home and the challenges of starting over in another place. Still others write about the feeling of being perpetually unmoored, belonging neither here nor there and thus searching for some mythical elsewhere where their minds and bodies might find a measure of equanimity. In this class, which entails a global and multi-genre approach to migrant literature, we will closely examine short stories, autobiographical prose, poems, and movies that depict the forced or voluntary relocating to a new place; our goal will be to gain a strong understanding of concepts such as community, language, identity, and belonging. All readings are in English. No prerequisites.