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Florida International University Course Syllabus LIT 4930 Sec. 01 DANTE: THE DIVINE COMEDY Spring 2007
Class Meets: T Th. 5:00-6:15 PC 212
Dr. Joan Baker Office: DM 454C 348-3873 (voice mail) bakerj@fiu.edu Office Hours: T 9:30 – 10:30 AM Th. 3:00 – 4:00 PM and by appt.
REQUIRED TEXTS: The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: Inferno translated by Allen Mandelbaum The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: Purgatorio translated by Allen Mandelbaum The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri: Paradiso translated by Allen MandelbaumBrucker, Gene, Florence: The Golden Age 1138 - 1737Dore, Gustav, Illustrations to the Divine Comedy
NOTE: There are, of course, a multitude of translations and editions of The Divine Comedy. Because of substantial variation among translations and critical apparatus (notes to text), you must use the Mandelbaum texts for reading, discussion and written analysis (quotation and citation).
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes: The primary objective of this course is to introduce students to one of the greatest works in Western literature, Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, and to the political, religious, and cultural context in which it was written. Students will be expected to do close readings of specific cantos, to participate/present in class discussion, and in a final exam and final essay in particular to demonstrate a grasp of Dante’s critique of Florence and its implications for his poetics of exile. Evaluation of students’ writing will be based on both the quality of literary analysis and the clarity and coherence of expression.
REQUIREMENTS/ CRITERIA: 10% Attendance/Participation Attendance will be taken at beginning of class. Participation includes class discussion & any presentations. If you should have to miss class, please notify me by e-mail in order to be excused. 30% Canto Analysis one each for Inferno and Purgatorio 2 pp. pages minimum each 20% Midterm 20% Paper on Divine Comedy 5pp. minimum 20% Final exam
Academic Misconduct: There’s a special place in my Inferno for those who plagiarize.Please consult the FIU Student Handbook.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will be devoted to the study of The Divine Comedy, the greatest work of the medieval Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321). We will, of course, read the texts in English translation, but with the facing page in Italian in order to appreciate Dante’s distinctive verse.
Because the Divine Comedy is so rich and complex a poem, we will approach the text in small pieces, in this case canto by canto. Each student will sign up to do a close reading of a specific canto not only to produce a short paper but also to help guide class discussion through the literary terrain of the Inferno and Purgatorio. In so doing, students will simulate the role of Virgil, Dante’s guide on his journey, and will become more aware of the role(s) of the poet and the narrator/guide in narrative art. Literary narrative, not unlike the literal journey or exile, entails notions both of place (verbal and visual space) and process (stasis and movement).
The Divine Comedy: The Poetics of ExileSignificantly, Dante writes as an exile, having been banished from Florence in 1302 during the civil strife that plagued the city for years. Exile appears to have been essential to the writing of this work, for it is the “prophetic hope of exile” that shapes Dante’s vision of a commonwealth of ethical politics—an ideal later deemed impossible by Machiavelli. In order to articulate this vision, he first examines the errors that tore Florence apart in the Inferno, and then explores the role of self-governance and ethical political conduct in Purgatorio. To demonstrate to his readers how Florence has been corrupted and perilously divided by the forces of self-interest, Dante invokes the Augustinian dictum “descend, so that you may ascend.” Only by descending to the darkened spaces of the City of Dis and confronting “ --not some remote legendary hero or abstract allegorical figure, but flesh and blood historical Florentines, one’s alter-egos so to speak—“ does one comprehend the social consequences of his individual acts. Thus, the damned whom Dante and Virgil meet in the Inferno would have been instantly recognized by Dante’s contemporary Florentine readers (especially those who exiled him), while we his modern readers must rely upon extensive notes to grasp the significance as well as the identity of who’s who in hell. This descent, for the poet in exile, is a painful journey is a kind of pilgrimage that has been likened to depression and despair. Dante describes the purgation of sins in Purgatorio as a journey also undertaken with blood and bone, a journey of suffering and learning—this time about governance of the self: “I crown and mitre you over yourself” (Purg. XXVII 142). We will discover that the program of remediation in Purgatorio that is structured on the Seven Deadly Sins and corresponding Virtues bears distinct similarity to our contemporary multi-stepped self-help programs. For Dante, the suffering and remediation of purgatory is rewarded with the insight and theological virtues necessary to recognize and receive the divine in Paradiso. Dante did not title his work “divine.” It is the work itself,that has achieved immortality for the poet…a classical rather than Christian notion of the afterlife. Only art can achieve what the Florentines could not—a community bound together by an ethical concern for others rather than self. And only the pain and perspective of exile allow Dante to examine the cause and consequences of error in the Inferno and the individual’s role in achieving ethics and justice in Purgatorio
SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS
NOTE: Readings and Assignments are due on the date listed.
Week 1
T 1/9 Introduction to Course
Th 1/11 Introduction to Dante, medieval period Reading: Introduction in Inferno
Week 2T 1/16 Introduction to Inferno and opening cantos Reading: Inferno Cantos 1 - 3 Reading: Brucker 7 – 23
Th 1/18 Reading: Inferno Cantos 4 - 5 “ Dante in His Age” Inferno pp. 319-29
Week 3 T 1/23 Reading: Inferno Cantos 6 - 9 Reading: Brucker pp. 109 - 136
Th 1/25 Reading: Inferno Cantos 10 - 13
Week 4T 1/30 Reading: Inferno Cantos 14 – 17 Reading: Brucker pp. 27 – 55; pp. 157 – 173
Th 2/1 Reading: Inferno Cantos 18 - 21 Reading: Brucker pp. 56 – 83
Week 5T 2/6 Reading: Inferno Cantos 22 - 25 Reading: Brucker pp. 65 - 74
Th 2/8 Reading Inferno Cantos 26 - 29 Brucker pp. 84 - 92
Week 6 T 2/13 Reading: Inferno Cantos 30 – 34 Brucker pp. 191 - 205
Th 2/15 Canto Analysis on Inferno due Introduction to Purgatorio, and to Group Project Reading: Introduction in Purgatorio
Week 7T 2/20 Midterm Exam
Th 2/22 Reading: Purgatorio Cantos 1 - 4
Week 8 T 2/27 Reading: Purgatorio Cantos 5 - 9
Th 3/1 Reading: Purgatorio Cantos 10 – 15 Pride, Envy
Week 9 T 3/6 Reading: Purgatorio Cantos 15 – 19 Wrath, Sloth
Th 3/8 Reading: Purgatorio Cantos 19 – 24 Avarice, Gluttony
Week 10 T 3/13 Reading: Purgatorio Cantos 25 – 29 Lust, Eden
Th 3/15 Reading: Purgatorio Cantos 30 – 33 Canto Analysis on Purgatorio due
Week 11 T 3/20 SPRING BREAK
Th 3/22 SPRING BREAK
Week 12 T 3/27 Group Project Purgatorio
Th 3/29 Group Project Purgatorio
Week 13 T 4/3 Reading: Paradiso Cantos 1 – 4 and 7
Th 4/5 Reading: Paradiso Cantos 19 – 21 and 33
Week 14 T 4/10 Discussion: Poetics of Exile in Divine Comedy
Th 4/12 Discussion: Error/Ethics in Divine Comedy
Week 15 T 4/17 Final Essay due 5 pp minimum
Th 4/19 Course Review
Week 16 Exam Week
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