COMP 221
Dante and the Medieval World Spring 2024
Division I
This is not the current course catalog

This course explores Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy vis-à-vis the medieval world. Through a close reading of this epic poem, students will consider Dante’s use of language, allegory, and cultural knowledge to depict the afterlife and assess medieval society’s social, political, and religious systems. The course will also examine the poem’s relationship with global literature, art, and culture. We will read the Divine Comedy (with a focus on the Inferno) along with selections from the Aeneid, the Apocalypse of Saint Paul, the Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot, the Kitab al-Miraj, Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness, and other texts that will help us depict a better idea of the global Middle Ages and the exchange of ideas. By the end of the course, students will have a deep understanding of Dante’s contributions to global cultural and literary traditions and how his work continues to inspire contemporary artists and thinkers. Students will develop critical analysis and research skills through class discussions and writing assignments.