French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Cassin, Nostalgia. When is one truly at home? Ulysses, Aeneas, Arendt
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Nostalgia - When is one truly at home? Ulysses, Aeneas, Arendt
Barbara Cassin
PUBLICATION DATE: 27/03/13 PUBLISHER: Autrement (Editions) SERIES: Les Grands Mots ISBN: 978-2-7467-3410-4 EAN: 9782746734104 FORMAT: Paperback NO. OF PAGES: 147 p.
It begins with a poignant question: why, Barbara Cassin wonders, does she feel a pang of nostalgia the moment she sets foot in Corsica, even though her roots are not there? Perhaps it is because this island belongs to the Mediterranean, the sea of the Odyssey and of the impossible return. In this inquiry conducted in the company of Ulysses, Aeneas, and Hannah Arendt, the philosopher demonstrates, with polyglot erudition, that nostalgia is rooted less in native soil than in a native tongue.
Barbara Cassin, philologist and philosopher, is a senior researcher at the CNRS. A specialist in ancient Greek philosophy, particularly rhetoric and sophistics, she edits two series for Fayard. She edited the Dictionary of Untranslatables: A Philosophical Lexicon (Princeton University Press, 2014 / original French edition: Le Seuil, 2004). In 2012, Barbara Cassin received the Grand Prix of the Académie française for her lifetime achievement.
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An article on this book can be read on nonfiction.fr:
Barbara Cassin is a philologist, philosopher, and senior researcher at the CNRS who specializes in ancient Greek philosophy, rhetoric, and sophistics. In this inquiry, she explores how nostalgia is rooted less in native soil than in a native tongue, drawing on her experience of Corsica to examine the concept of home in the company of Ulysses, Aeneas, and Hannah Arendt. Readers interested in the philosophy of language, classical reception, and exile may find it relevant.