Dante's Divine Comedy (275-0-20)

Instructors

Paola Nasti

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-435: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

Dante's Divine Comedy takes readers on an unforgettable journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. In this course, we'll read key cantos from the poem while exploring the vibrant—and often turbulent—world of the late Middle Ages that shaped it. Through close textual analysis, we will consider how the Comedy engages enduring questions concerning justice and love, reason and will, knowledge and happiness, and the relationship between human experience and the divine. Particular attention will be given to Dante's synthesis of literary, philosophical, and theological traditions, as well as to the ways in which the poem responds to contemporary political tensions and religious debates.
By connecting the poem to its historical context, we'll see how Dante brings together literature, philosophy, and theology to imagine a world ordered by meaning, responsibility, and hope.

The course also offers opportunities to work according to individual strengths through creative and independent projects, fostering both rigorous scholarship and intellectual independence.

Registration Requirements

None.

Learning Objectives

Develop close reading skills through detailed analysis of selected cantos from Dante's Divine Comedy, with attention to language, structure, and poetic form.

Understand how the Comedy reflects and engages the cultural, political, philosophical, and theological contexts of the late Middle Ages.

Evaluate Dante's treatment of key intellectual and spiritual questions - such as justice, free will, knowledge, and the relationship between the human and the divine - within the broader framework of medieval thought.

Teaching Method

Class participation; discussion; group work; lecture (two 80-minute lectures weekly); online work; presentations; readings; research project; writing assignments

Evaluation Method

Class participation; discussion; homework; online work; final project; quizzes; writing assignments

Class Materials (Required)

Dante's Divine Comedy is available on line (with various commentaries). Buying a paper copy of ‘Inferno', is highly advised.
Any edition is allowed as long as it includes footnotes and commentary.
We will be using the following edition:
Dante Alighieri, 'Divine Comedy', 3 vols, translated by Robert and Jean Hollander, edited by Robert Hollander, New York: Doubleday 2002. 2004, 2007.

Class Notes

This class is conducted in English.

If the class is fully booked, please get in touch with the instructor.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: REASON: Pre-registration is not allowed for this class. Please try again during regular registration.