Reading articles author did not asked students to read it all. They read sections, wrote essays on topics that show up in poem etc. The poem was basis on which other stuff was taught - like American style essay writing.
Author spent roughly a year preparing the seminar.
I mean, the entire seminar is titled "War." The teacher here has a clear US conservative background, which for whatever leans jingoistic. Other assigned reading includes "Why Men Love War" from Esquire magazine, and Rupert Brooke's "The Soldier."
1) The "Odyssey" is more interesting and far more often referenced in arts and culture.
2) It's not an English book so you are going to suffer from double the translation misfires (Greek -> English -> Chinese).
There are lots of choices for literature in English that are just as or even more important than the "Iliad".