English 395

his course will offer a unique opportunity to study one of the great encyclopedic masterpieces of the medieval world. As we navigate Dante’s complex and often misunderstood vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, what will emerge, hopefully, will be an understanding of the Divine Comedy as something more than a collection of frightful images drawn from the Inferno. Rather, the work will be seen as a unified epic of salvation which is only fully understood once we gaze upon l’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle (“the love that moves the sun and the other stars”). In a departure from most Dante courses which seek uniformity in translation, we will be reading each canticle from a different translator in order to explore the trials and triumphs of rendering Dante into English. As a special course tie-in, our Inferno translator and former United States Poet Laureate Robert Pinksy will be visiting Jackson in November and conducting a workshop on Union’s campus. I hope we can engage him in a discussion relating to Dante translation at this time.

If you are absent while representing Union in an official capacity, you may have this absence excused with a written statement from an appropriate authority. If you are absent due to illness, I will excuse the absence provided that a physician or nurse provides a statement saying that you were too ill to attend class. Even excessive excused absences may prevent you from fulfilling basic requirements of this course, so please stay healthy!

Critical Essay 1..................................................................................................15%

Critical Essay 2..................................................................................................25%

Exam 1................................................................................................................15%

Exam 2 ..............................................................................................................15%

Exam 3(Final)....................................................................................................20%

Attendance, participation, and study questions............................................10%

The grading scale for this course is detailed in the Union University Undergraduate Catalogue (A 95-100; B 85-94; C 75-84; D 65-74; F 64 and below). All assignments are due at the beginning of class. Late assignments are penalized 1/3 letter for each school (not class) day late. You are responsible for getting me your papers regardless of unfavorable circumstances such as computer glitches. All work must be submitted in order to pass the course. Notify me if accommodations need to be made for disabilities of any kind.

Plagiarism can be broadly defined as using the ideas or words of others in your paper without proper acknowledgment. Using information from other term papers, websites, or even standard research tools without source citation is a serious breach of academic integrity, and ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism is no excuse. When in doubt, please consult your instructor about the appropriate use of quotation marks, paraphrase, and parenthetical citation. Flagrant acts of plagiarism (e.g., downloading all or portions of a paper from the Internet without proper citation, handing in the work of another as your own, repeated instances of plagiarism, etc.) shall result in a failing grade for the course and possible further disciplinary action taken by the University. Punishment for other forms of plagiarism may range from failing the assignment to failing the course. Union University “upholds the highest standards of honesty” (2002-2003 Undergraduate Catalogue 22), and the English department’s policy regarding plagiarism is an attempt to preserve these standards.

You will write two typed and double-spaced critical essays in this course. Details on these assignments are to follow.

There will be three exams in this course; details on these exams are to follow. A portion of the final will be cumulative, as required by the University. There will be no alternates given for these exams. If you anticipate that an excused absence will conflict with an exam, please speak with me well ahead of time. You are responsible for furnishing your own bluebooks (exam booklets), which can be purchased at Lifeway.

In lieu of quizzes, I will assign a study question per class meeting to help guide your reading and make sure all students are keeping up. On occasion I will ask to see your responses, which will be graded on a √-, √, and √+ basis, roughly equivalent to a C, B, and A. However, the Study Question is not merely a policing measure; often the question will deal with a core concern, a critical term, or a key passage which will help you better engage the text and which you will see again on an exam or as part of a writing assignment option. Study questions also serve as springboards into class discussion. If you are absent on the day I take up these questions, you may only hand in a late assignment if your absence is excused.

This class is a “No Cell Phone Zone.” Please turn off all cell phones. If you must have your phone on, please set it to buzz/vibrate.

I often use email to communicate information regarding this course to the class at large, and I email the class via a Webadvisor option that allows me to send a note to all student accounts at once. You should regularly check your student email account, or you should make sure that all Union email is forwarded to an account you do check (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.). See computing services on how to forward email.

As per a departmental requirement, I keep all exams and papers for one year. You should also keep a copy of all out-of-class work in case I lose anything. This syllabus and first-day handout may be revised as necessary. I encourage you to call me in my office or at home (668-4888; 8:00 am-10:00 pm, please) if you need anything. If you have any concerns about this course, don’t wait until the last minute to voice them—talk to me while we can take steps to make this course a positive experience for you. My office, A-17, is located in PAC in the glassed-in Humanities Vestibule near the art gallery and wellness center, across from the language lab. Once you enter the humanities area, my office is down the second corridor to the left, the last office on the left.

WEEK	ASSIGNMENT	STUDY QUESTION
WEEK 1	DANTE: LIFE & TIMES
Wednesday, Aug. 29	Introductory comments; discussion of texts, syllabus, policies, and goals. Dante: Life & Times
Friday, Aug. 31 (Convocation)	Dante: Life & Times
WEEK 2	INFERNO
Monday, Sept. 3 Tomorrow is the last day to add a course.	LABOR DAY HOLIDAY: NO CLASS.
Wednesday, Sept. 5	Video Presentation: The Medieval Mind The Circles of Light: The Divine Comedy.
Friday, Sept. 7	Inferno 1-3.	Read Jeremiah 5:1-6 and discuss the potential symbolism of the leopard, lion, and wolf which cross Dante’s path.
WEEK 3	INFERNO
Monday, Sept. 10	Inferno 4-6.	In Canto 5 Dante encounters Francesca da Rimini. Dante readers through the ages have suggested that Francesca da Rimini exerts a certain power over Dante, and that he is entirely too sympathetic to this damned sinner. Do you agree? If so, what kind of power does she exert? If not, why has this scene been so often misread?
Wednesday, Sept. 12	Inferno 7-9.	Compare and contrast Dante’s portrayal of Fortuna found in Canto 7 with the following description from Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy: “As thus she turns her wheel of chance with haughty hand, and presses on like the surge of Euripus's tides, fortune now tramples fiercely on a fearsome king, and now deceives no less a conquered man by raising from the ground his humbled face. She hears no wretch's cry, she heeds no tears, but wantonly she mocks the sorrow which her cruelty has made. This is her sport: thus she proves her power; if in the selfsame hour one man is raised to happiness, and cast down in despair,' tis thus she shews her might.” Are these fundamentally the same views of Fortune?
Friday, Sept. 14	Inferno 10-12.	What kind of man is Farinata degli Uberti?
WEEK 4	INFERNO
Monday, Sept. 17	Inferno 13-15.	In canto 15 we witness an intimate and moving scene between Dante and Brunetto Latini—a scene which closes with Dante saying that Brunetto seems to be a man who gains, not loses. What do you think he means by this statement?
Wednesday, Sept. 19	Inferno 16-18.	One of the recurring approaches to Dante is to determine why he groups sins the way he does. What is the structural implication in grouping panderers & seducers with the flatterers in this canto?
Friday, Sept. 21	Inferno 19-21.	Discuss the “symbolic retribution” for the simonists. Why are they punished in the manner described in canto 19—upside down in a “pouch”?
WEEK 5	INFERNO
Monday, Sept. 24	Inferno 22-24.	Are we correct in seeing portions of Canto 22 as humorous? Don’t the demons seem a bit silly? Does the comedy here undermine Dante’s terrible vision of judgment?
Wednesday, Sept. 26	Inferno 25-27.	My notes to Canto 27 discuss Guido da Montefeltro’s role in giving ruthless advice to Boniface VIII as he dealt with papal enemies at Penestrino (see 27.100 ff.). In return, Boniface VIII promised Guido absolution for this sin of discord, but Guido da Montefeltro’s eternal damnation in the eighth bolgia of Malebolge clearly demonstrates that Boniface VIII’s absolution was worthless. How do we reconcile this fact with the high regard for the papacy Dante asserts in Inferno 19.100 ff.?
Friday, Sept. 28	Catch-up.
WEEK 6	INFERNO
Monday, Oct. 1 Tomorrow is the last day to drop a course.	Exam 1. Bring a bluebook.
Wednesday, Oct. 3	Inferno 28-30.	What does the placement and punishment of Mohammad and Ali in Canto 28 reveal about how the medieval Christian West viewed Islam? How do we reconcile this view with the fact that Muslims such as Avicenna and Averroes walked through the circle of the virtuous pagans along with Virgil and Homer in Canto 4?
Friday, Oct. 5	Inferno 31-34.	Why might Dante consider betrayal the ultimate sin when he had so many to choose from?
WEEK 7	PURGATORIO
Monday, Oct. 8	Catch-up / Introduction to the Purgatorio.
Wednesday, Oct. 10	Purgatorio 1-3.	Based on the information below, how can we explain why Cato (spectacularly pre-Christian) is the custodian of Purgatory? Cato; (Marcus Portius Cato the Younger) 95-46 B.C “To find such a notable character as Cato of Utica in Dante’s narrative is not surprising. But to find him in purgatory is. Great-grandson of Cato the Censor, Cato the Younger was a Roman statesman, a leader of the Optimates (the conservative senatorial aristocracy), and a strict republican of the old school. He tried to preserve the Roman government against power seekers, particularly Julius Caesar. In 49 B.C, when Caesar waged civil war on Pompey and the Optimates, Cato took action. Although Cato had formerly opposed Pompey, he fought beside the Roman general, realizing that this was the last chance to save the republic. Leading a small remnant of troops, Cato shut himself up in the north African city of Utica. Even after the decisive defeat of the republican forces at Thapsus, he kept the gates closed until all his allies could escape by sea. When the last transports had left, Cato, rather than make terms with the victor or endure imprisonment, committed suicide. In canto XIII of Inferno, Dante watches those who committed suicide suffer terrible punishment--transformed into withered trees, they pour out blood and sorrow when their limbs are broken. But Cato appears later as the old man with flowing beard and “reverend mien” guarding the way up Mount Purgatory. While pleading with the statesman on Dante’s behalf, Virgil recounts Cato’s deeds at Utica and his passion for liberty. He asks Cato to be merciful to Dante, who also seeks liberty. With these words, permission is granted, and the journey continues.” - Janine Petry
Friday, Oct. 12	Purgatorio 4-6.	In Canto 6 Dante asks Virgil if intercessory prayer among the living can avail the souls in Purgatory. Virgil responds, in essence, by saying that in pagan times no such prayer could help, and only Beatrice can clarify whether Christian intercession can help. What do you think Dante believes about Christian intercessory prayers for the dead?
WEEK 8	PURGATORIO
Monday, Oct. 15 Mid-term grades are due.	Purgatorio 7-9. Critical Essay #1 due.	In this canto we hear the “Salve: Regina,” the Evening Hymn of the Church Liturgy. Discuss the significance of this liturgical hymn being sung by the late repentant princes at this point in the epic. Click here to download/listen to this hymn: http://dominicanidaho.org/music/salve_regina.html LATIN: Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Hevae, ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte; et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exilium ostende. O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria. ENGLISH: Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Wednesday, Oct. 17	Purgatorio 10-12.	In Canto 11.98-99, it is believed that Dante refers to himself in these lines. What do you think the significance of this self-reference is?
Friday, Oct. 19	FALL HOLIDAY: NO CLASS.
WEEK 9	PURGATORIO
Monday, Oct. 22	Purgatorio 13-15.	Look up the etymology of envy in a good dictionary and discuss its relevance to the manner in which envy is purged.
Wednesday, Oct. 24	Purgatorio 16-18.
Friday, Oct. 26	Purgatorio 19-21.	In Canto 20 we hear Hugh Capet condemn his descendant Phillip IV of France for actions against Pope Boniface VIII—the same Boniface Dante detested so strongly. But shouldn’t we expect an enemy of Boniface to be a friend of Dante? Explain Dante’s attitude here to Phillip “the Fair.”
WEEK 10	PURGATORIO
Monday, Oct. 29	Purgatorio 22-24.	Discuss the extent of the chain of Dante’s allusion and symbolism here with regard to his brief reference to Psalm 51:15 ff.: “O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give [it]: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.”
Wednesday, Oct. 31	Purgatorio 25-27. Note: November 1: Possible visit to hear Dante translator and former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky at noon at the public library.	Listen to the supplied music of troubadour Arnaut Daniel on the O: drive. Discuss how the music offers insight to the poetry of love that was developing in Dante’s day. What is Dante’s attitude toward such art?
Friday, Nov. 2	Purgatorio 28-30.	It is in canto 30 that the poet names himself--the only such instance in the entire Divine Comedy. Discuss the significance of Dante’s self-naming here.
WEEK 11	PURGATORIO
Monday, Nov. 5	Purgatorio 31-33.	Discuss the imagery of the eyes and why Dante obsesses on it so in these cantos.
Wednesday, Nov. 7	DAY OF REMEMBERANCE: NO CLASS.
Friday, Nov. 9	Exam 2. Bring a bluebook.
WEEK 12	PARADISO
Monday, Nov. 12	Paradiso 1-3.	Dante begins his ascent through the heavens at noon on the vernal equinox. (“Vernal equinox (Astron.), the time when the sun crosses the equator when proceeding northward; the moment at which the sun passes through the vernal equinox, about March 21, marking the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere”). Why might Dante have set his ascent on this day?
Wednesday, Nov. 14	Paradiso 4-6.
Friday, Nov. 16	Paradiso 7-9.	Review Canto 9. What is the significance of Rahab being the first to be harrowed from Hell? Read Joshua 2 and respond.
WEEK 13	PARADISO
Monday, Nov. 19	Paradiso 10-12.	Try to piece together a biography of St. Francis without looking at your notes. What kind of man is he? What does the Dominican St. Thomas Aquinas recount his biography?
Wednesday, Nov. 21	THANKSGIVING
Friday, Nov. 23	THANKSGIVING
WEEK 14	PARADISO
Monday, Nov. 26	Paradiso 13-16.	In Cantos 15 and 16 Dante arrives at the sphere of Mars. Mars, of course, was the god of war in Roman mythology (Greek Ares). How does Dante “Christianize” this bellicose concept? Do you find his Christianization of a fundamentally violent concept appropriate or inappropriate?
Wednesday, Nov. 28	Paradiso 17-20.	We know that Can Grande della Scala, “Vicar General of the Principate of the Holy Roman Emperor in the town of Verona,” offered Dante sanctuary during the latter years of his exile. It is at his court that much of the Purgatorio was written. In Canto 17 of the Paradiso we “meet” him. Discuss how Dante regards his benefactor.
Friday, Nov. 30	Paradiso 21-24.	In 22.133 ff. Dante gazes down upon the earth and smiles. Discuss the significance of this smile. What does it mean? What are we to make of it?
WEEK 15	PARADISO
Monday, Dec. 3	Paradiso 25-27. Critical Essay #2 due.	We know from Dante’s own interest in writing the Divine Comedy in Italian as opposed to Latin that Dante was interested in linguistics and language change. His De vulgari eloquentia (On the eloquence of the vulgar, or common, language) deals in part with these matters. How are these interests reflected in Canto 26?
Wednesday, Dec. 5	Paradiso 28-30.	Summarize the criticisms of the abuses of Dante’s time found in Canto 29.
Friday, Dec. 7	Paradiso 31-33.	Dante would probably find it bitterly disappointing that few students read his Divine Comedy beyond the Inferno, and even fewer find the Paradiso as compelling as the Inferno or Purgatorio. How do you account for this modern reception of the Divine Comedy in general, and the Paradiso specifically?
WEEK 16	FINAL EXAM
Wednesday, Dec. 12	8-10 am. Bring 1-2 Bluebooks.