Dante (in English)

From its original medieval manuscripts, through print and its well-known illustrations, to today’s graphic novels, the Divine Comedy’s journey into the afterlife sustains a central (and sometimes polemical) position in the global imagination. We will seek to understand why. We will consider the work in its cultural context, among the last manifestations of the Western medieval imagination, yet at the cusp of the modern world. As a secondary consideration, we will also explore how the Comedy lives again, through contemporary translations and within popular culture. Along with Dante's poetic predecessors (Virgil, vernacular poets), we will focus on Inferno, with selected cantos from Purgatorio and Paradiso. This course is offered completely in English. Advanced Italian students can take the course for Italian credit by attending the twice weekly English classes (TR) and adding an extra weekly class (F) in Italian of selective reading, discussion, and writing.