Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Department of Italian
Program in Comparative Literature
DANTE AND MEDIEVAL CULTURE
Italian 01:560:315
Comparative Literature 01:195:315
SPRING 2013
Instructor: Alessandro Vettori
Class meets: MW5 2:50-4:10 Campbell A4
Office hours: M 12:00-1:00pm, W 10:00-11:00pm, 84 College Avenue
vettori@rci.rutgers.edu
Tel. 732-932-7536
Course description:
Dante’s Divine Comedy has been interpreted as a compendium of medieval culture. It
incorporates all disciplines known at the time, such as philosophy, theology, art, history,
mythology, spirituality, mysticism, and theatrics. While being the foundational
masterpiece of Italian language, the Comedy reaches out to numerous other cultures in the
Mediterranean area and beyond, to create what we (with our modern sensibility) could
easily name an international epic. Among the topics it covers are Jewish tradition, Islam,
Provençal poetry, as well as Scholastic philosophy from the University of Paris. Through
a close reading of the text this course will investigate all the interactions of these cultures
and traditions within Dante’s poetry. We will investigate the rhetorical concept of
allegory and show how Dante’s journey is intended to be read at different levels of
signification. We will analyze the new type of rhyming scheme Dante created for the
Comedy as an effective tool for this experimental poetic endeavor. As narration of an
afterlife experience, the poem closely scrutinizes moral issues and their consequences,
which are applicable to any era and any place. Students will be required to “translate”
such concepts into the contemporary world.
Learning Goals:
At the end of the course students will be able to account for the development of ideas
from the middle ages to early modernity and understand the intricate dynamics of
humanistic and scientific disciplines. As part of the investigation of the moral issues
connected to the material, they will learn to locate human actions in a historical and
philosophical context. They will, moreover, become familiar with the theoretical
infrastructure originating cultural production and human experience. This will allow them
to view literature in the context of medieval culture(s) and values, and understand the
complex interactions of critical interpretation and the creative process.
At the end of the course, students will be able to express complex ideas in standard
written English and to communicate effectively in modes that are appropriate to the
discipline. The course will also teach them to evaluate primary texts, to use the
conventions of attribution and citation correctly, and to process information from
multiple sources in order to generate new insights.
Grading.
Although the class is too large (90 students) to have oral presentations, class participation
in the form of questions and comments is encouraged during the last 15 minutes of class
time. Written activities include: two papers (20% each), one midterm, and one final
examination (30% each).
Attendance and Class Behavior
Attendance to lectures is mandatory and it will be taken at the beginning of every class. A
maximum of four absences is allowed for serious illness or family or personal reasons.
Beginning with the fifth absence grades will be lowered. Three episodes of tardiness will
be considered as one absence. The use of cell phones, beepers, and blackberries is
forbidden. No texting or phone calls during class time. Students whose behavior is
considered disruptive for the class and distracting for other students will be asked to leave
the class and will be considered absent. Repeated disruptive behavior will result in the
student being asked to drop the course and receive an F in the
Plagiarism
Written papers must result from your own creativity. When inspired by critical or
theoretical material, you must acknowledge your indebtedness and credit the source in
quotation marks and with references in parentheses or in footnotes. You must also give
acknowledgement to your sources when paraphrasing a text. Your sources may be in
print, electronic or any other media). When in doubt, please refer to the university policy
on plagiarism and academic integrity
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml
Required Texts:
The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. Inferno. A Verse Translation by Allen
Mandelbaum. New York: Bantam Books ISBN 055321344X
The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. Purgatorio. A Verse Translation by Allen
Mandelbaum. New York: Bantam Books
The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. Paradiso. A Verse Translation by Allen
Mandelbaum. New York: Bantam Books
SYLLABUS
Week 1
01/23 Introduction
Week 2
01/28 Inferno I, II
01/30 Inferno III, IV, V
Week 3
02/04 Inferno VI, VII, VIII
02/06 Inferno IX, X, XI
Week 4
02/11 Inferno XII, XIII, XIV
02/13 Inferno XV, XVI, XVII
Week 5
02/18 Inferno XVIII, XIX, XX
02/20 Inferno XXI, XXII, XXIII
Week 6
02/25 Inferno XXIV, XXV, XXVI
02/27 Inferno XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX
Week 7
02/04 Inferno XXX, XXXI, XXXII
03/06 Inferno XXXIII, XXXIV
Week 8
03/11 MIDTERM
03/13 Introduction to Purgatorio
SPRING BREAK
Week 9
03/25 Purgatorio VI, VII, VIII
03/27 Purgatorio X, XI, XII
Week 10
04/01 Purgatorio XV, XVI, XVII
04/03 Purgatorio XII, XXII, XXIII, XXIV
Week 11
04/08 Purgatorio XXVIII, XXIX
04/10 Purgatorio XXX, XXXI
Week 12
04/15 Purgatorio XXXII, XXXIII
04/17 Paradiso XI, XII
Week 13
04/22 Paradiso XXV, XXVI
04/24 Paradiso XXV, XXVI
Week 14
04/29 Paradiso XXXI-XXXII
05/01 Paradiso XXXIII
Week 15
05/06 Conclusion