Multimedia Medeas: Ethnic Difference and Adaptation (GSA 2022, Houston)

In this seminar, the mythological figure of Medea will be used to explore adaptation, form/medium, and representations of ethnic difference. Medea, known for helping Jason and his Argonauts capture the Golden Fleece and later for killing her children, exemplifies the outsider. Her difference places her in a position where she cannot be assimilated or integrated into the societies where she seeks a home. Whether on screen, on the page, or on stage, Medea draws attention to how dynamics of inclusion and exclusion are related to power structures and politics. By revisiting the many versions of Medea from the 19th through the 21st centuries, we can trace the evolution of these concerns across different periods and media. A renewed appraisal of Medea underscores her role as both witch and colonial subject and how she constitutes the center and the periphery. The seminar will also center notions around voice and victimhood and performance and gender performativity. There is no expectation of expertise on the figure of Medea, but rather an interest in the themes with which the Medea story contends.

The link to register for this GSA seminar (by March 14) is here. 

Inquiries can be sent to organizers Alicia Ellis (aeellis@colby.edu) or Claire Scott (scott4@kenyon.edu).