Ateneo - UPO

Dante's Shadows: the great encounters in the Inferno.

1) For the Introductory Section (Dante's life and works) and for supplementary material (journeys to the Afterlife in pre-Dantean Literature, excerpts from Boccaccio): the teacher will prepare a packet of relevant texts, which will be made available at the copy shop (Copisteria Lisa in Vercelli, Via Galileo Ferraris 76) before classes begin. A notice will be posted on the DIR platform, in the course's dedicated area, once the packet is available.2) For Dante's Inferno: students may use an edition of the Inferno they already own or purchase one of their choice, provided it is a complete edition (containing all 34 cantos) and includes commentary (introductions to the cantos and footnotes). Recommended commentaries include those by Emilio Pasquini and Antonio Quaglio (Garzanti), Umberto Bosco and Giovanni Reggio (Le Monnier), Anna Maria Chiavacci Leonardi (Mondadori), Giorgio Inglese (Carocci), Saverio Bellomo (Einaudi), Roberto Mercuri (Einaudi), Marco Veglia and Angelo M. Mangini (Feltrinelli), Vittorio Sermonti (Garzanti; includes audio version), and Riccardo Bruscagli and Gloria Giudizi (Zanichelli).3) For further study (optional readings; PDFs of the essays will be made available on the DIR platform): Pier Antonio Frare, La parola che muove: i primi due canti dell’Inferno, in Idem, Il potere della parola. Dante, Manzoni, Primo Levi, Novara, Interlinea, 2010, pp. 17-45; Manuele Gragnolati, Inferno V, in Lectura Dantis Bononiensis, ed. by Emilio Pasquini, Carlo Galli, vol. II, Bologna, Bononia University Press, 2012, pp. 7-22; Giorgio Masi, «Noi leggiavamo un giorno per diletto»: il senso della lettura e della letteratura nel canto V dell'Inferno, in «Soglie», 1, aprile 2015, pp. 27-46; Luca Azzetta, Politica e poesia tra le arche degli eretici, in Lectura Dantis Romana. Cento canti per cento anni, ed. by Enrico Malato, Andrea Mazzucchi, Roma, Salerno Editrice, 2013, pp. 311-342; Leo Spitzer, Il canto XIII dell’Inferno (1942), in Idem, Studi italiani, Milano, Vita e Pensiero, 1976, pp. 147-172; Pasquale Stoppelli, La costruzione dell'episodio di Pier della Vigna fra etica cristiana, fonti classiche e retorica, transcript of the conference held at the Casa di Dante in Rome on January 29, 2023, downloadable from «Academia.edu»; Silvia Longhi, Reticenza, retorica astuta e retorica perversa tra le Malebolge e il Cocito, in Letteratura e filologia fra Svizzera e Italia. Studi in onore di Guglielmo Gorni, vol. I, ed. by Maria Antonietta Terzoli, Alberto Asor Rosa, Giorgio Inglese, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2020, pp. 185-212; Pasquale Stoppelli, Ulisse fra Dante e Guido (Lettura di Inferno XXVI), in Per un breviario dantesco, vol. III, ed. by Davide Canfora, Giorgio Meledandri, Riccardo Viel, Bari, Cacucci, 2022, pp. 31-45; Pasquale Stoppelli, Il canto delle «ombre tristi smozzicate», in in Lectura Dantis Romana. Cento canti per cento anni, ed. by Enrico Malato, Andrea Mazzucchi, Roma, Salerno Editrice, 2013, pp. 848-869.

The course aims to provide the fundamental methodological tools for the study of the Italian language and literature through direct engagement with a seminal text (Dante’s Inferno). The learning objectives are structured at two levels:Basic level: Historical and cultural contextualization of Dante and his work; knowledge of the Commedia’s structure; and the ability to read, paraphrase, and comment on individual cantos.Advanced level: Acquisition of skills in intertextual analysis (recognizing key sources and the mechanisms of their reworking), stylistic analysis (examining multilingualism, vocabulary, and syntax, as well as metrics and rhetoric), and bibliographic research (utilizing the primary tools of Dante scholarship).

Historical-literary, linguistic-stylistic and basic metrics knowledge.

Frontal lessons with discussion; in-class reading, paraphrasing, and commentary on texts, with questions and discussion; online learning (DIR).

The teacher will make teaching materials available via the the university's online platform (DIR), to which students are invited to register before the start of lessons. Students unable to attend the majority of classes are asked to contact the teacher (cecilia.gibellini@uniupo.it) for general guidance on exam preparation and information regarding supplementary readings.Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studentesse-e-studenti-condizione-di-disabilit%C3%A0-e-dsa. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the teacher in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The exam consists of a two-hour written test designed to assess the student's knowledge and ability to apply that knowledge to the texts covered in the course. Specifically, the test will comprise three open-ended questions, structured as follows:1) A question assessing knowledge of Dante’s biography, poetics, and works: students will be asked to provide a concise overview of an aspect of Dante’s ideology or poetics (examples: Dante’s political experience and thought: exile, Florence, the Empire; Dante’s philosophical syncretism) or one of his works (examples: Vita nuova: genesis, structure, and models; Convivio and the question of nobility; De vulgari eloquentia: the search for the «volgare illustre» and the canon of poetry). [30% of the exam grade]2) A question assessing knowledge of the structure of the Commedia and the Inferno (examples: physical and moral geography of Dante’s afterlife; literal and allegorical meaning in the Commedia; examples and rationale behind Dante’s «contrapassoı). [30% of the exam grade]3) A question assessing the ability to examine and interpret texts and to formulate reasoned critical judgments: paraphrase, analysis, and commentary on a passage taken from the Inferno cantos studied during the course. [40% of the exam grade]To pass the exam, students must provide satisfactory answers to all three questions, demonstrating: knowledge of Dante’s biography, poetics, and works – at least regarding their key aspects; the ability to describe the structure of the Commedia and the Inferno using appropriate terminology; and the ability to correctly paraphrase Inferno cantos while placing them in the context of the work as a whole. A broader understanding of the course material, demonstrated by the ability to draw connections between different texts and substantiate them with precise references, leads to a grade above the passing level. To achieve an excellent grade, students must demonstrate the ability to present their knowledge independently, going beyond the points raised in class by drawing comparisons with other primary texts and the critical bibliography, and by formulating well-reasoned critical judgments. In the text analysis and commentary exercise, achieving an excellent grade requires enriching the literal explanation and contextualization of the text with insights regarding intertextuality (sources and how they were reworked) and stylistics (lexis, syntax, and rhetorical devices).

Introductory lesson on the analysis of poetic texts.Introductory lesson on Dante: biographical details, intellectual formation, poetics, and major works.Journeys to the afterlife in pre-Dantean literature.The Comedy and Inferno: reading of Cantos I, II, III, IV, V, IX, X, XIII, XIX, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXXIII, and XXXIV.

To achieve a satisfactory level of knowledge and competence, students are required to demonstrate:(KNOWLEDGE)familiarity with the key aspects of Dante’s biography, poetics, and works;knowledge of the structure of the Comedy, and specifically of the Inferno;(COMPETENCE)the ability to read, paraphrase, contextualize, and comment on the Inferno cantos studied during the course, linking ideological elements with strictly literary ones;(TRANSFERABLE SKILLS)the ability to present knowledge, information, and opinions regarding the texts and issues discussed clearly and effectively, using appropriate language and terminology.To achieve an advanced level, students are required to demonstrate:(KNOWLEDGE)familiarity with the main tools of Dante scholarship and criticism;(COMPETENCE)the ability to comment on the texts from an intertextual perspective, identifying key sources and analyzing how they are reworked;the ability to examine the texts stylistically, analyzing vocabulary (in light of Dante’s plurilingualism), syntax, and rhetorical devices;(TRANSFERABLE SKILLS)the ability to formulate critical, well-reasoned judgments on the texts, drawing comparisons with other primary texts and critical scholarship independently—going beyond the material presented in class.