By: Gabriel Giacomelli
“History,” Stephen Dedalus says in Ulysses, “is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.”
James Joyce and Interdisciplinary Modernism is a Gallatin Global spring 2026 travel course led by NYU Gallatin Professor Greg Erickson. The course will combine the study of James Joyce’s major works with a focus on modernism, literary theory, and interdisciplinary scholarship, and an immersive travel experience. Students will discuss James Joyce’s Ulysses, Finnegan’s Wake, Dubliners, and A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man while walking the streets of Dublin. In Dublin, students will visit sites relevant to Joyce’s work and life.
Gabriel Giacomelli (Gallatin Global Student Assistant): What are the main learning outcomes you hope students will gain from the course?
Greg Erickson: There are a couple of different kinds of students who take this class. Some are serious literature scholars, and others are more interdisciplinary in their interests. On one hand, Joyce is a very difficult author, and I want students to come away with some level of understanding of what he’s doing, especially in Ulysses. Whether they read it again or not, it’s important to me that they feel like they’ve accomplished something.
On the other hand, I want the class to reflect the kind of interdisciplinary thinking that Gallatin values. If a student is more interested in Irish folklore, postcolonial history, journalism, or even graphic novels, there’s room for that. I want students to not only understand Joyce, but to think critically and creatively about literature’s connections to other fields.
Gabriel Giacomelli: How does actually being in Dublin impact the way students experience Joyce’s work?
Greg Erickson: Ulysses takes place entirely in Dublin, over the course of one day: June 16, 1904. So more than most novels, it’s tied to a real city. I always say that while there are two main characters in Ulysses, the third is the city itself. When you’re there, you can see what Joyce is describing. You know how long it takes to walk from the pub to the cemetery, or how the city sounds and moves.
We visit key sites from the novel—like the James Joyce Tower, the National Library, and Glasnevin Cemetery. But we also spend time exploring the Dublin of today, and we travel outside the city to places like Glendalough and Newgrange, which are significant to Irish heritage and cultural identity. These places may be mentioned only briefly in the novel, but they’re crucial for understanding how the Irish imagine their history.
Gabriel Giacomelli: Do students get to engage with Dubliners or the local culture?
Greg Erickson: Absolutely. One of the first assignments I give when we arrive is simple: go talk to someone. Whether it’s in a café, a cab, or a pub, just start a conversation. Irish people are incredibly generous with their stories. You ask one question, and they’ll tell you their whole life. When we regroup, I ask, “Who did you meet yesterday?” and we share those stories. You start to see how storytelling functions in Irish culture, and that’s important for reading Joyce, or really any Irish literature.
Gabriel Giacomelli: How do you create a balance between the academic and cultural components of the trip?
Greg Erickson: I think they naturally complement each other. On the academic side, we read some challenging literature, and Joyce can look completely unreadable at first glance. But when students are reading together and discussing what they see, some kind of meaning begins to emerge. That communal process is important.
At the same time, I want the travel experience to be dynamic and open. Students have opportunities to explore on their own and observe the city. I also ask them to choose a location mentioned in Ulysses and write a short reflective essay on how it’s changed over the years. What’s there now? Do people know it was in the novel? What does that place represent now, politically or culturally? It becomes a kind of miniature research project rooted in place.
Gabriel Giacomelli: Is there room for students to create artistic or non-traditional final projects?
Greg Erickson: Definitely. There’s one traditional academic paper, but the final project is open-ended. Some students go the research route, especially if they’re planning to apply to graduate school. Others produce creative work: performance pieces, short films, paintings, and even board games based on Ulysses. Some of these projects have gone on to be exhibited or presented at conferences. We dedicate the last week of the course to sharing them with the class.
My main message to students is: this course is what you make of it. If you’re a cartoonist, do a cartoon. If you’re a musician, write a song cycle. Do something that connects your interests to the text.
Gabriel Giacomelli: What would you say to students who are unfamiliar with Joyce or unsure if this course is for them?
Greg Erickson: First of all, you don’t need to be a literature major. Every year, I get students who say, “I’ve never read Joyce, why should I care?” And I love that. Because this course isn’t just about Joyce. It’s about learning to approach something difficult in a group, making meaning together, and applying that to your own interests.
Some students walk away with a lifelong love of Joyce. Others never read him again, and that’s okay. But they’ve learned how to engage deeply with a text, how to ask questions, how to look at a place or a piece of writing from different angles. That’s the skill I want them to carry forward.
Gabriel Giacomelli: How do the relationships formed on the trip shape the experience?
Greg Erickson: The group dynamic is essential. Reading and writing are usually solitary acts, but here, they become communal. Students rely on each other, they travel together, and they make discoveries in conversation. Some of the strongest friendships I’ve seen at Gallatin have come out of this course.
I taught this course for the first time in 2014, and I’m still in touch with students from that trip. Some of them still get together regularly. That sense of connection is something I hope every student walks away with.
Gabriel Giacomelli: Any final thoughts?
Greg Erickson: Every time I teach this class, it’s different because the students are different. If I have a group interested in Irish history, we lean into that. If students are more interested in visual art or performance, we go there. The course is flexible enough to meet students where they are, and I think that’s what makes it special.