BASC70165 - History Two Ways: Yourcenar and Saramago
Course Description
An emperor makes history. A proofreader invents it. Who has more freedom? Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian (1951) and Jose Saramago’s The History of the Siege of Lisbon (1989) pose old questions in new and unexpected ways. Yourcenar devoted 25 years to imagining, researching, internalizing, reimagining, and writing the story of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (76-138 AD). The result is an unforgettable meditation on power, friendship, and love. Saramago’s wisdom, in turn, emerges through an alternative history of twelfth-century Lisbon and the love between two modern people enthralled by storytelling.
Course Outline
Required Texts:
- Marguerite Yourcenar, Memoirs of Hadrian. FSG Classics, 2005. ISBN: 9780374529260.
- José Saramago, The History of the Siege of Lisbon. Harcourt Brace, 1997. ISBN: 9780156006248.
Weekly reading assignments 75 pages.
Notes
Online registration deadline: Thursday, Sept 22 at 5 PM CT.
In-person programming must adhere to University of Chicago guidelines, including the following measures:
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