Livestreaming lessons in English
Course language: English
Lessons: live
Price: 150,00 EURO
This course includes:
- 10 hours of interactive live lessons on Zoom
- 33 25-min. video on demand
- 2 downloadable resources
- Access to smartphone, PC, tablet
- Certificate IT International Academy of Italian Culture
When: Live every Saturday h. 19 CET (7PM)
Duration: 1 hour
Course start: Saturday 27 August 2022, h. 19 CET (7 PM)
End of course: Saturday 29 October 2022, h. 20 CET (8 PM)
What you will learn
- Deepening of Dante’s Inferno
- New notions and points of view on the work for high school and university students
Requirements
- Students of this course, without being experts, should have some familiarity with reading and analyzing poetic texts.
- Knowledge of Italian is not required, but students who have experience in Italian are encouraged to study the original text. Interaction in the classroom is strongly recommended.
- Although not necessary, a high-level knowledge of the following classical works can be of great help in the study of Hell:
- The New Life, Dante; The Aeneid, Virgil; The Odyssey, Homer; The Odes, Horace; Civil War, Lucan; The Metamorphoses, Ovid.
We will analyze the selections of these works during the lessons.
Course Description
Dante’s “Divine Comedy” is the pinnacle of medieval literature, and a crucial work in the development of Italian culture.
This ten-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.” While we will comparatively discuss Dante’s poem in relation to its biblical and classical archetypes, we will also seek to consider the protagonist’s journey as a life-affirming experience from which we all can benefit.
Alongside the cantos, we will explore Dante’s previous works, sources of biographical information and revolutionary poetic beauty; Dante’s influences; and what we, as modern readers, may gain from a thorough understanding and appreciation of this work of undisputable genius.
Lectures (1 hour each)
1. Dante and the Divine Comedy: an introduction
2. Canto I: Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
3. Canto II: the three heavenly ladies
4. Canto III: the Ante-Inferno
5. Canto V: Paolo e Francesca
6. Canto VIII: wrath and righteous anger
7. Canto IX: access to the city of Dis
8. Canto XII: the river of blood
9. Canto XIV: violence against God
10.Canto XV: Brunetto Latini
Preparation
Students should feel comfortable reading and analyzing poetry independently.
A knowledge of Italian is not required, but students who have experience in Italian are encouraged to engage with the original text. In-class interaction is strongly recommended.
Although not required, a high-level knowledge of the following classic works can be of great help in the study of Inferno:
La Vita Nuova, Dante; The Aeneid, Virgil; The Odyssey, Homer; The Odes, Horace; Civil War, Lucan; The Metamorphoses, Ovid.
We will analyze selections from these works during the lectures.
Expectations
Students should be prepared to read approximately 2 cantos and their accompanying notes each week, as well as studying one brief selection from primary and critical sources. Students will be asked to prepare a comment or question each week based on the readings to facilitate debate during lectures. There will be one exam during the course and a final project where creative responses are encouraged.
Teacher
Tommaso Todesca is Italian. After obtaining a law degree in 2000, he moved to London, where he worked in the finance industry. In 2010 he moved to Los Angeles, where he currently lives and works. His passion for Dante and for Italian literature keeps growing every day. In 2016, he published the graphic novel “Science and Faith”. In 2022, NPE Edizioni published the Italian edition, titled “Scienza e Fede”.
Tommaso Todesca ci racconta il suo primo graphic novel Scienza e Fede – italiani.it
