Western Washington University

Sweet, sweet summer time 🗻🌲🌺🐝🌊🌼🚤

Nothing entertains quite like a good pirate story.

We asked Visiting Assistant Professor of Classical Studies Miller Krause: Why can’t we ever stop telling the story of Odysseus? What’s the secret of the enduring appeal of Homer’s “Odyssey”?

The epic offers more than monsters, witches and adventure. At its center is Odysseus, a morally complex hero whose story has been reimagined for thousands of years, with each generation finding new meaning in his journey. As audiences anticipate a new cinematic retelling, Krause explores why this ancient epic continues to captivate and evolve.

Read more about the lasting legacy of "Odyssey" and what keeps us coming back to it: https://news.wwu.edu/one-quick-question-why-can-t-we-stop-telling-the-story-of-odysseus

POV: Your English degree helps build one of the biggest video game franchises in the world 🎮

alum Darby McDevitt transformed a lifelong love of books, history and storytelling into a career creating the worlds of Assassin’s Creed.

Assassin’s Creed is beloved for its innovative gameplay, with dopamine-inducing flips, jumps and glides as the player’s character parkours through compelling historic landscapes — zipping over narrow alleys and leaping along tiled rooftops.

Learn more about how McDevitt transforms digital worlds of past historical eras into cinematic gameplay gold at the link in our story.

Image 1: One of the many sweeping landscapes in the Assassin’s Creed series. This screen capture is from Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.
Image 2: Award-winning Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag has been updated with improved visuals, six new hours of game play, enhanced player movements and new recruitable characters.
Image 3: Darby McDevitt