The Canisius Adult Lifelong Learning Institute (CALLI) will present “To Hell and Back: Reading Dante’s Inferno” as a course open to all.
Professor Johanna Fisher will conduct the course over Zoom in August and early September. It will be recorded on Tuesday afternoons from 12:00 to 1:00 PM EST and can be available to others if this day and time does not suit them. As described by Professor Fisher, “Dante’s Divine Comedy is the pinnacle of literacy achievement in medieval literature and an important work in the development of Italian culture.”
This six-lecture online course offers a critical reading of selected cantos of Dante’s Inferno, the first part of his epic poem in three parts, The Divine Comedy. We will comparatively discuss Dante’s poem in relation to its biblical and classical archetypes/ allusions, yet we will also seek to consider the protagonist’s journey as a life-affirming experience from which we all can benefit, despite the at times frightening descriptions of hell.
We will also consider the cantos, from the perspective of some of Dante’s previous works, sources of biographical information and revolutionary poetic beauty [Beatrice] Dante’s influences on other medieval as well as modern day writers; and what we, as modern readers, may gain from a thorough understanding and appreciation of this work of indisputable genius.”
To learn more, please check out the poster above. Registration may be completed by visiting https://tinyurl.com/mruts6cv Kindly contact Professor Yvonne Widenor with any questions at widenory@canisius.edu
Submitted by: Yvonne K. Widenor, Assistant Professor and Program Director, Art History and Music Programs, MLLC Department, Director and Studio Art Galleries Director, ArtsCanisius
