Dante II

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Dante’s Comedy is one of the masterpieces of Western literature. It is also a comprehensive synthesis of the cultural tradition up to its time (from antiquity to the late Middle Ages), a daring experiment in language, poetics and poetic technique, and a profound exploration of Christian spirituality. Dante I and Dante II ( ROIT 40115 and 40116 ) are a close, discussion-based study over two semesters of the entire Comedy, in its cultural (historical, literary, political, philosophical) context. Dante I explores the works that precede the Comedy, and the Inferno. Dante II focuses on the Purgatorio and Paradiso, along with the Monarchia. These are separate courses and can be taken individually, or in either order, although they do form an integrated sequence. Lectures and discussion are in English; the text will be read in a facing-page translation, so we can refer to the Italian (but knowledge of Italian is not necessary). Counts as an Italian Studies course. Students with Italian have the option of also enrolling in a one-credit pass/fail Languages Across the Curriculum section, which will meet one hour per week to read and discuss selected passages or cantos in Italian. Taught in English. LIT - Univ. Req. Literature. Cross-listed with LLRO 40116 , MI 40553, ROIT 63116 , MI 60553 . Ways of Knowing Core designations: Catholicism and the Disciplines; Advanced Language and Culture; Fine Arts and Literature.