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School of Modern Languages & Cultures: Department of Italian

Dante's Purgatorio and Paradiso

This module will not be available in 2012-13

About this module

This module is open to students who are taking Italian language 4B. The module focuses on Dante's second and third canticles of the Divine comedy, a cornerstone text for the understanding of Italian literature and culture since 1300. The course will provide an in-depth understanding of Dante's poetry, as well as a precise knowledge of the Italian language, culture, and literature in a crucial period of its history. Topics will include: Dante's autobiography in the Divine Comedy including Dante's exile and political positions; Dante and contemporary Italian poetry (Dolce Stil Novo); Dante and the classical world (Virgil, Ovid, Statius); Dante's theory of love and the philosophical dimension of love; Dante's language and the ‘questione della lingua'; the intellectual and physical cosmography of the Divine Comedy, with references to medieval philosophy and theology; literature and science in the Divine Comedy.

Sources will be studied in their original language, and will include a selection of Italian medieval texts.

Teaching and Learning

This module is taught by means of weekly lectures and fortnightly seminars.  The lecture (1 hour) - where texts are introduced, contextualised and examined critically; the seminar (1 hour) - where emphasis is on student participation and group discussion. Seminars will involve close textual reading/analysis, class discussions and individual/group presentations.

The course will be supported by the learning environment duo.  Students are expected to attend all lectures and seminars, to carry out independent reading and to prepare themselves for seminars in advance.  Attendance will be monitored in all teaching sessions.  This module is capped at 30.

Summative Assessment

  • 2000-word summative essay (40%)
  • 3000-word summative essay (60%).

Set Texts

  • Dante Alighieri, Purgatorio (any modern annotated edition in Italian)
  • Dante Alighieri, Paradiso (any modern annotated edition in Italian).
  • Additional course materials will be posted on duo

Co-ordinator:

Dr Annalisa Cipollone (annalisa.cipollone@durham.ac.uk), room A16, Elvet Riverside I.