History On Tap: From Ancient Epic to Blockbuster Film

Learn about ancient epics as we prep to travel!

Every third Thursday, we’ll be serving up fascinating talks on a variety of topics, all while you enjoy a cold brew or your favorite beverage.

On Thursday, May 15th, our featured speaker will be Dr. Kirsten Day, who will be talking about the Enduring Legacy of Homer’s Odyssey as we prepare for our upcoming trip to Greece.  Whether you’re interested in the classics, the Mediterranean, or if you’re simply curious about other Homer, this is a session you do not want to miss!

About Dr. Kirsten Day: Professor and Chair of Classics at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where she also contributes to the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Augustana Prison Education Programs. Her research interests have long focused on Classical receptions: in addition to publishing a number of articles and chapters in edited volumes that are focused on Classics in television and film, she is editor of a special issue of Arethusa (41.1: Winter 2008) entitled Celluloid Classics: New Perspectives on Classical Antiquity in Modern Cinema and co-editor (with Ben Haller) of the inaugural issue of the online journal Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy (1.1: 2014). Her book entitled Cowboy Classics: The Roots of the American Western in the Epic Tradition appeared in 2016 as part of Monica Cyrino and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones’s “Screening Antiquity” series. In recent years, her experiences teaching in prison have been the focus of a number of scholarly presentations, as well as a December 2024 article in Classical Outlook entitled “Classics and the Incarcerated.

About the talk: Homer’s 8th century BCE epic poem The Odyssey is one of the oldest written works of the so-called “Western” world, but despite its great antiquity, it continues to enthrall modern audiences, not only in numerous translations of the original, but in myriad re-imaginings: from relatively “straight” retellings like Mario Camerini’s 1954 Ulysses starring Kirk Douglas to feminist spins like Margaret Atwood’s 2005 novel The Penelopiad; from quirky comic send-ups like the Coen brothers 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? to serious contemplations on the trauma of war like Uberto Pasolini’s 2024 The Return; and from video games like Assasssin’s Creed Odyssey to TikTok sensations like Jorge Rivera-Herrans’ recent concept album Epic: The Musical, Odysseus’ story remains as relevant today as it was over 2000 years ago. In this talk, we will journey from Iowa to the Aegean, and from antiquity to the internet age, learning a bit about how Odysseus and his encounters with Lotus Eaters, Cyclops, and Sirens continue to speak to our world today.

Thursday, May 15th

Drinks at 5 PM (Cash Bar with snacks)
Speaker at 5:30 PM

History On Tap Events are free with General Admission ($5 OFF after 3:30!)

History On Tap is every third Thursday of the month!