What is life like under authoritarian regimes, especially for writers, artists, and other creative thinkers whose aim is to loosen, bend, and even break the rules? Do harsh regulations constrict or condone innovative artistic practices? How can authors subvert authoritarianism through writing? What happens if they get caught? This year’s Global Issues Through Literature series, a reading group designed for K-12 educators to learn and use new texts in the classroom, will travel the world through the eyes of authors writing under authoritarianism to try to understand the role of literature as document, commentator, and critic of restrictive regimes.

For this session we will read Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie and hear from Pitt Prof. Jeanette Jouili (Religious Studies).