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COURSE TITLE: Dante's Inferno

COURSE NUMBER: Honors 498.4

INSTRUCTOR: Rev. James L. Fredericks Ph.D.

OFFICE: Sullivan 23, 8-2857; Jfrederi@lmu.edu

OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday and Thursday: 10:00-11:00; Wednesday: 2:00-4:00

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course provides an opportunity for students to explore Dante's vision of hell and humanity in his classic poem, Inferno. The entire course will be given to a close reading of the text in English translation. Lectures will highlight the theological significance of Dante's poem, especially Dante’s theological anthropology, but will also focus attention to its literary aspects and political vision.

REQUIRED READING

The Inferno of Dante, Robert Pinsky trans., Michael Mazur illus., (New York: Ferrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994.

 

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1. Attendance of all classes and active class participation.

2. Short essays (weekly)

The essays must be roughly 2-3 double-spaced typed pages, concerned with the material to be discussed in class. Essays will be evaluated based on (1) their command of the text, (2) their cogency and clarity, and (3) their creativity.

3. The group project:

Toward the end of the semester, students will work in groups of three to write their own canto and present it to the class.