Kamila Shamsie's 2017 Home Fire sets Sophocles' Antigone in present-day Britain and America, figuring the House of Laius as British Pakistani Muslims.  This talk focuses on Isma, Shamsie's equivalent to Ismene.  Shamsie's reworking not only aligns the reader's sympathies with Isma's character in Home Fire, it also offers a lens through which we may view and review Ismene in Sophocles' play.

Arum Park (University of Arizona) has published articles and book chapters on Archaic and Classical Greek poetry, the ancient Greek Novel, and Augustan poetry, as well as public-facing pieces on #metoo in ancient Greco-Roman literature, race and diversity in Classics, and Classical reception. Her interests include gender, truth, pastoralism, intertextuality, and race and ethnicity in ancient Greek and Roman literature, and she regularly teaches courses in ancient Greek language, literature, and mythology. The daughter of Korean immigrants, she currently co-chairs the Asian and Asian American Classical Caucus.

If you plan to attend remotely, please email clasdept@uw.edu before the day of the lecture for a Zoom link.