Italy as Troy: Catalyst and Necessary Departure
In shaping my lived experience through the framework of the Odyssey, I have come to understand Italy as my “Troy.” Troy, in Homeric narrative, is not the journey itself but the rupture that renders the journey inevitable. Odysseus had a life before Troy: a kingdom, a family, a defined identity. Yet it is the Trojan War that dislodges him from stability and sets in motion the long arc of displacement, encounter and transformation.
In my own trajectory, although I had already lived a substantial life in Greece and later in the United Kingdom, it was through Italy that a decisive turning point occurred. My collaboration with an Italian company led directly to my relocation to China, a chapter that profoundly altered my understanding of independence, endurance and cultural perception. Italy was therefore not merely a professional location but a catalytic site. It functioned as the initiating rupture from which a wider odyssey unfolded.
In this sense, Italy becomes less a destination and more an event: the moment when departure becomes irreversible.
From Troy to the Long Road
In Homer’s epic, Troy does not end the story; it begins the long testing of the self. The Cyclops, the Lotus Eaters, Circe and the unpredictable force of Poseidon are not random episodes but consequences of having left the known world. Departure exposes Odysseus to both external dangers and internal reckoning.
Reflecting on my own experience, I recognise that the China chapter (with its isolation, cultural immersion and enforced self-reliance) emerged directly from that Italian departure point. Like Odysseus leaving Troy, I did not yet understand the full extent of what the journey would demand. Only retrospectively can I see how that rupture shaped everything that followed.
Here the influence of Cavafy’s Ithaka becomes quietly present: the value of the journey lies not in the initial departure, nor even in the final return, but in what is encountered and absorbed along the way. The “Lestrygonians and Cyclops” are not merely mythic creatures; they are experiences, internal and external, that reveal the contours of the self.
Understanding Italy as Troy allows me to frame my migration not as accidental movement but as structured transformation. The “war” is not literal conflict, but the fracture of stability that compels growth. From that rupture emerged distance, hardship, knowledge and a deeper awareness of identity. It is this recognition that has encouraged me to use the Odyssey not as decorative metaphor, but as narrative methodology: a way of organising lived experience within a timeless architecture of departure, endurance and return.
Revised Project Plan
Working Title:
Myth, Migration, and Language: Reframing the Odyssey Through Lived Experience
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1. Practice Aims
My practice explores lived migration experience through four interconnected pillars:
- Mythic Framework (The Odyssey as Structure)
Using Homer’s Odyssey as a structural and conceptual lens, I examine identity, displacement, masculinity, craft and belonging across geographical transitions. The myth functions not as literary reference but as methodology: a narrative scaffold through which lived experience is organised and interpreted.
In mapping my own journey onto the Odyssey, I recognise that Italy represents my “Troy.” It was through an Italian company that I was sent to China, initiating a transformative chapter in my life. Just as Troy marks the necessary rupture that propels Odysseus toward Ithaca, Italy marks the decisive turning point that sets my wider journey into motion.
Troy is not home.
Troy is the event that makes the journey inevitable.
3. Autobiographical Alter Ego (The Bird Who Came From Afar)
This body of work is an explicitly autobiographical project in which the bird functions as my alter ego — a migratory consciousness that observes, survives and carries memory across borders. Through this device, I create narrative distance and reflexivity, allowing lived experience to be both intimate and critically examined.
A defining symbolic moment occurred upon arriving in Hawick to begin my new chapter in Scotland. I witnessed a solitary bird — similar to one I had photographed in the Isle of Man — landing beside the road as I entered the town. This moment reinforced my understanding of migration as continuity rather than rupture. The bird does not abandon itself; it relocates.
3. Greenglish: Language as Migration Space
Inspired by discussions with my tutor, I will explore “Greenglish”: the interweaving of Greek linguistic consciousness within English narrative.
As a bilingual writer, my thinking often originates in Greek and is articulated in English. Certain Greek concepts resist direct translation and carry philosophical depth that shapes my narrative voice. This pillar examines how bilingual identity becomes embedded within syntax, metaphor and narrative rhythm.
Language itself becomes a migratory terrain.
4. Craft Formation Landscapes (Germany, Japan, Italy)
Germany and Japan were formative spaces in my technical and craft development. As a teenager and young adult, I trained in Germany, which provided discipline, technical rigour and professional structure. Japan, encountered later, reinforced precision, aesthetic refinement and cultural awareness within craftsmanship.
These spaces shaped my professional identity and gave me the foundation that allowed future migrations to occur.
Italy holds a dual role: both craft environment and narrative catalyst. It connects directly to my China experience and therefore functions mythically as “Troy” — the site of departure rather than destination.
These craft landscapes are not secondary background. They are epistemological foundations. Through them, I came to understand making as knowledge and labour as identity formation.
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2. Research Aims (Expanded)
My research will investigate:
1. How mythic structures can function as methodological frameworks for contemporary migration narratives.
2. How autobiographical alter ego (the bird) enables reflexive practice.
3. How bilingual consciousness (Greek-English hybridity) shapes narrative identity.
4. How craft training across cultural contexts (Germany, Japan, Italy) informs epistemology and creative thinking.
Expanded research question:
How can myth, alter ego, bilingual narrative strategies and craft formation landscapes collectively articulate the complexities of migration and identity construction?
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3. Intended Outcomes
Creative:
• Myth-mapped autobiographical chapters including:
• Germany (formation)
• Japan (aesthetic precision)
• Italy as Troy (rupture and departure)
• China (transformation)
• Isle of Man (isolation)
• Scotland (Phaeacian recognition)
• Greece (Ithaca)
• Development of The Bird Who Came From Afar as cohesive manuscript.
• Greenglish experimentation embedded within English narrative.
• Integration of photography where relevant.
Critical Review:
The Critical Review will explore:
• Myth reinterpretation
• Narrative identity
• Practice-led research
• Craft as epistemology
• Diaspora and bilingual writing
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Expanded Reflective Commentary (Revised)
Through the development of this Project Plan, I have recognised that my work is structured across myth, self, language and craft.
Germany and Japan provided the technical and aesthetic foundations of my craft identity. The places that made me craft stronger. Italy represents a catalytic rupture (my Troy) from which my transformative China chapter began. These spaces are not incidental geography; they are formative structures.
The Odyssey offers a narrative logic through which these experiences can be ordered. The bird provides alter ego and narrative distance. Greenglish introduces linguistic hybridity as a lived reality rather than stylistic ornament.
Together, these pillars transform autobiography into structured inquiry.
This planning process has allowed me to articulate the deeper architecture of my work. What once felt like episodic life events now reveal thematic continuity: displacement, formation, rupture, endurance and return.
Student Notes and Reflections
Tutorial 10.03.26 – Feedback Point 1
The tutorial was very helpful in clarifying the expectations for Stage 3 and how my work should evolve from the foundation established in Stage 2. One of the key points discussed was the importance of creating a clear demarcation between Stage 2 and Stage 3 work. This will help situate the new research and creative practice within a new phase of development. As a result, I will produce a reflective blog post identifying the work completed during Stage 2 and positioning Stage 3 as a continuation but also as a conceptual shift toward more structured research and practice.
We discussed the central concept that continues to underpin my creative work: The Bird Who Came From Afar. The bird functions as my autobiographical alter ego and as a symbolic figure representing migration, transformation, and narrative identity. During the discussion it was suggested that the bird might also incorporate characteristics of native birds from the different countries that shaped my journey. This idea resonates strongly with my interests, as it allows the metaphor to evolve visually and conceptually while maintaining its autobiographical dimension.
The tutorial also helped me reflect on how the different geographical locations that shaped my life – Greece, Germany, Japan, Italy, China, the Isle of Man and Scotland – can function as creative landscapes within the project. Each place carries different cultural, emotional and craft-related experiences. Exploring how these environments influence my creative strategies will form an important part of my practice-led research.
A key area of discussion was the Critical Review for Unit 3.1. The tutor noted that the themes I initially proposed are conceptually rich but currently too broad for a 2500-word analytical text. However, these ideas remain valuable and can be explored through the practical work and wider research. As the project develops, suitable research threads can be refined into a more focused argument for the Critical Review. This focused research can later expand into longer written chapters for Unit 3.2 (4000–6000 words).
The tutorial confirmed that the theoretical framework of my research is built around the following areas:
- Myth reinterpretation
- Narrative identity
- Practice-led research
- Craft as epistemology
- Diaspora and bilingual writing
These themes align closely with my lived experience and creative practice, particularly my use of mythic structures derived from the Odyssey narrative as a methodological framework for storytelling and reflection.
An important aspect of my work is the use of bilingual consciousness, particularly the interplay between Greek and English within my writing. This hybrid language practice reflects my diasporic experience and allows me to explore identity across linguistic and cultural boundaries. I am particularly interested in experimenting with what I describe as “Greenglish”, where Greek cultural concepts and linguistic rhythms enter an English narrative structure.
Another key dimension of my research relates to craft training across different cultural contexts. My professional formation in Germany, Japan and Italy shaped my understanding of craftsmanship, discipline and knowledge. These experiences influence my approach to creative thinking and support my exploration of craft as a form of epistemology, where knowledge emerges through practice, repetition and making.
Overall, the tutorial helped me understand that while my ideas are conceptually interconnected, the challenge moving forward will be to narrow specific research questions for the written components while allowing the broader conceptual framework to continue informing the practical work.
Action Points
1. Create a clear Stage 2 / Stage 3 transition
- Write a blog post reflecting on Stage 2 work and assessment outcomes.
- Clearly identify the shift toward new research directions in Stage 3.
2. Develop the Bird metaphor further
- Explore how the bird alter ego may adopt characteristics of birds from different countries in my journey.
- Experiment visually and narratively with this evolving metaphor.
3. Continue developing practice-led work
- Investigate how different geographical environments influence the creative work.
- Explore the relationship between memory, place and narrative.
4. Refine the Critical Review focus
Current themes are:
- Myth reinterpretation
- Narrative identity
- Practice-led research
- Craft as epistemology
- Diaspora and bilingual writing
Next step: identify a smaller number of key threads that can form a coherent 2500-word analytical text.
5. Continue research into theoretical frameworks
Focus areas:
- Myth as narrative structure
- Alter ego and autobiographical storytelling
- Migration narratives
- Craft knowledge and embodied learning
- Bilingual and hybrid language practices
6. Develop the research question
Current expanded question:
How can myth, alter ego, bilingual narrative strategies and craft formation landscapes collectively articulate the complexities of migration and identity construction?
This question may need to be refined and simplified for the Critical Review.
Questions for the Next Tutorial
- How can I narrow the research question while keeping the interdisciplinary character of my work?
- Which of the current research themes would be most suitable for the 2500-word Critical Review?
- How can the practical work best demonstrate the relationship between myth, migration and craft experience?
- Would it be useful to focus the Critical Review on one key concept (for example narrative identity or craft epistemology) and allow the other themes to appear through the creative practice?
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