The Odyssey is one of our finest stories — and famous for its main character and large themes, which have drawn the attention of artists and writers for centuries, and now, Hollywood. But what about those aspects of the poem that feel smaller, and the characters who inhabit only a scene or a moment? Did Penelope get tangles in her hairbrush? What did it smell like inside the Trojan horse? Who made Odysseus a shirt when he didn't have any clothes? Was Telemachus bad at games?

This seminar will introduce readers to this epic poem by looking at scenes in which power imbalances frame questions of human dignity. We will use two different kinds of prompts — writing and drawing — to deepen our imaginative engagement with these questions, asking ourselves to visualize, not just interpret, the implied worlds of Odyssean characters. Ultimately we might ask: does dignity have to do with power, and if so, in what way?

We will provide excerpts from the text for this seminar, so there is no need to have read the poem in advance. Indeed, we hope this seminar will serve as an introduction to this poem for all readers.