Reader Series

Displacement: The Literature of Forced Migration - Online

With: 
Alexandra Magearu

NOTE: This class has now moved online.

In this reading series, we will explore works by key contemporary authors about forced migration and discuss diverse representations of refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants. According to the United Nations, more than seventy million people are currently displaced worldwide due to war, persecution, and conflict. At the same time, we have witnessed the global rise of nationalist and xenophobic discourses that dehumanize and reject displaced populations. In the United States, we have seen dramatic changes in our policies affecting refugees and asylum-seekers in the past few years, with the rollback of asylum protections and the considerable lowering of the number of refugees to be admitted for resettlement.

Contemporary literary authors have challenged these stereotypes by providing more complex and empathetic depictions of forced migration journeys. We will read three highly acclaimed contemporary texts:

– April 18: NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names (2013)
– May 16: Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West (2017)
– June 20: Valeria Luiselli’s Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions (2017)

These texts will offer us an opportunity to imagine better, more inclusive futures. We will engage in close readings and discussions of our primary texts and articulate them to current debates, focusing on understanding the complex historical, social, and political conditions that produce the movement of populations across borders.

Online Class Info

Literature and community are powerful tonics in anxious times, providing comfort and inspiration. That’s why Lit Cleveland is staying open with online learning so you can continue to be active, be creative, and engage with other writers and readers in a meaningful way.  

This class will meet online monthly the using ZOOM video conferencing. On the first day of class, we will give you a tutorial on how to use it. Once you sign on using the instructions we will provide, you will be able to see and talk with your instructor and your fellow participants—just like you would in one of our meeting rooms. All you need is a good internet connection and a computer or smartphone with a webcam. Not sure if your system is compatible? Just click here. Have any questions about online classes? Email or call associate director Matt Weinkam at mweinkam@litcleveland.org.

Saturday, April 18, 2020
1:00 pm
 - 
3:00 pm
Saturday, May 16, 2020
1:00 pm
 - 
3:00 pm
Saturday, June 20, 2020
1:00 pm
 - 
3:00 pm
Class Level:
All Levels
All Levels
Class Categories:

Work with the best...

Alexandra Magearu

Alexandra Magearu was born and raised in Romania, and she moved to the United States in 2011 to complete her doctoral studies in postcolonial theory and literature. Her writing has been published in Tint Journal, World Literature Today, Women’s Studies, The Comparatist, and more. She has been actively involved with immigration advocacy in the Cleveland area, and she works as a mentor coordinator for The Refugee Response.

Online

Cleveland, OH 44103

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