DANTE'S
INFERNO: INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE
May 3 and May 10, 2000
According to the eminent critic John Freccero "Understanding in the Inferno is a process that might be characterized as hyperbolic doubt systematically applied to the values of contemporary society." This may explain the revival of interest in the poem we have witnessed of late. In this seminar we will read the Inferno in the award-winning translation of U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky. We will especially focus on the poem's major episodes in the light of recent scholarship and in relation to current debates in the humanities. The seminar will include an up-to-date overview of Dante's life and works and will introduce participants to the rare books and illustrated volumes of the University's John A. Zahm Collection.
“I have been both enlightened and stimulated by the teacher and by my fellow classmates. The experience refreshed me.”
- Anne Schelle
“It was amazing! The combination of true, experienced and researched knowledge along with allowing us to create and express our own viewpoints made it a wonderful experience.”
- Cathy Leszczewski
“Prof. Cachey made me feel very welcome and important. [TAS] has expanded and enriched my mind.”
- Emmy Lou Cokewood
THEODORE J. CACHEY JR. is Director of The William and Katherine Devers Program in Dante Studies and Associate Professor of Italian Language and Literature. He studies Italian literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance and has edited Dante Now: Current Trends in Dante Studies. He is the author of Le isole fortunate: appunti di storia letteraria italiana.