ITAL5526 · Romance Languages and Literatures
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
Conducted in English. Elective for Italian major or minor. An introduction to and critical reading of the "Divine Comedy" (in English translation), one of the world's greatest epic poems, produced by "the chief imagination of Christendom" (Yeats). Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise will be analyzed at its multiple levels of interpretation: literal and allegorical, theological, philosophical, political, and literary. Compendium of an entire epoch of European civilization, the "Comedy" will also be interrogated for its responses to the fundamental questions of human existence: God, the Cosmos, the Self, Good and Evil, Right and Wrong, Suffering, and Happiness.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
4.4 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.7 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.6 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
4.7 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~6
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
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Across time
Available section-level results across semesters.
Spring 2024
1 sectionFall 2021
1 sectionSpring 2020
1 section