Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "ITS/EN 295"
COURSE NAME: "Dante's Divine Comedy"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2017

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: James Schwarten
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 11:30 AM 12:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: EN 110 with a grade of C or above *This class can substitute for one of the two EN LIT general distribution required courses. The other EN LIT course must have the EN prefix*
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course is an introduction to a critical reading of Dante’s Divine Comedy in its historical, philosophical, religious, and poetic contexts. Readings of Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise seek to identify Dante’s stylistic and thematic contributions to the literary world as well as to understand their relationship with medieval politics, philosophy, and culture. This course is taught in English.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
This course is designed to introduce students to Dante’s Divine Comedy through close readings of specific cantos coupled with selections of pertinent literary criticism and commentary. In-class discussion will reference Dante's personal life, novel aspects of the Divine Comedy, the classical tradition, and theological concerns. Visual aids will also complement the course.

Student Responsibilities:

Students will attend every class and arrive punctually for all class sessions. They will keep up with assigned readings and with any out of class assignments.

Five points will be deducted from each assignment that is not turned in on time for each day it is late.

The assessment criteria listed below refer to all assessment methods in the course.

REQUIRED READINGS:

Selected chapters from:

Teodolinda Barolini, The Undivine Comedy Detheologizing Dante. Princeton UP, 1992.

Joan Ferrante, The Political Vision of the Divine Comedy. Princeton UP, 2014.

John Freccero, In Dante's Wake. Reading from Medieval to Modern in the Augustinian Tradition Edited by Danielle Callegari, and Melissa Swain. Fordham UP, 2015.

Robert Hollander, Allegory in Dante's Commedia and Dante: A Life in Works, Princeton UP, 1969.

Joseph Anthony Mazzeo, Medieval Cultural Tradition in Dante's Comedy. Cornell UP, 1960.

Christian Moevs, The Metaphysics of Dante's Comedy. Oxford UP, 2008.

Additional critical readings will be assigned during the course.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Upon completion of this course students will be able to:

- Identify the structural and formal aspects of The Divine Comedy and discuss poetic and political circumstances of its composition.

- Discuss the significance of the major religious, historical, and cultural allusions in the Divine Comedy.

- Critically relate Dante’s key-themes to the culture of Medieval Italy.

- Understand the varied ways in which Dante nurtured the imagination of subsequent writers and artists.

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
The Divine Comedy	Allen Mandelbaum	Everyman's Library	978-06794333132

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Attendance	Missing more than 2 classes without valid justification will reduce the final grade by 3% for each absence.	5
Participation mid-term	Assessed qualitatively and quantitatively and includes such practices as active participation in class discussions, offering insightful comments and asking pertinent questions, note-taking, and remaining attentive during class meetings.	5
Midterm Exam		20
In-class Oral Presentation	Approximately a 10-minute power point (or similar platform) presentation of the topic of the research paper. Handouts will be provided.	10
Participation end-term	Assessed qualitatively and quantitatively and includes such practices as active participation in class discussions, offering insightful comments and asking pertinent questions, note-taking, and remaining attentive during class meetings.	5
Research Paper	Minimum 2000-word paper based on a topic relevant to the course and carried out using at least three academic sources. Handouts will be provided.	25
Final Exam		30

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course. 94-100 (A) 90-93.99 (A-)
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluate theory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture and reference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments. 88-89.99 (B+) 84-87.99 (B) 80-83.99 (B-)
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings. 78-79.99 (C+) 74-77.99 (C) 70-73.99 (C-)
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail. 68-69.99 (D+) 64-67.99 (D) 60-63.99 (D-)
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant. 0-59.99 (F)

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY

You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until December 9.

Course-specific absence policy: Each unjustified absence (for whatever reason) beyond the second will incur a 3% penalty in the final-grade calculation.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

The course schedule is subject to modification. Critical readings will be made available throughout the semester.

Note that class meets February 10 in compensation for the April 17 holiday.

Session	Session Focus		Assignment	Exam Dates
WK 1A Jan 16	Course introduction, syllabus, goals and expectations, research paper, introductory discussion of the life of Dante Alighieri and genesis of the Comedy, introduction to Inferno
WK 1B Jan 18	Inferno I, II, III, IV
WK 2A Jan 23	Inferno V, VI, VII, VIII
WK 2B Jan 25	Inferno IX, X, XI, XII		Research topic due
WK 3A Jan 30	Inferno XIII, XIV, XV, XVI
WK 3B Feb 1	Inferno XVIII, XIX, XXI, XXII		Bibliography due
WK 4A Feb 6	Inferno XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI
WK 4B Feb 8	Inferno XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, XXX
WK 4C Feb 10	Inferno XXXI, XXXII		Annotated bibliography and outline due
WK 5A Feb 13	Inferno XXXIII, XXXIV + conclusions on Inferno
WK 5B Feb 15	Purgatory introduction + I, II, III
WK 6A Feb 20	Purgatory IV, VI,* VII, VIII*	Begin preparing for exam
WK 6B Feb 22	Review for Midterm Exam
WK 7A Feb 27	Purgatory IX, XI, XII, XIII			MIDTERM EXAM
WK 7B Mar 1	Purgatory XVI, XIX, XX
WK 8A Mar 6	Purgatory XXIV, XXV, XXVIII	Research paper rough draft due
WK 8B Mar 8	Purgatory XXIX, XXX, XXXI, XXXII
WK 9A Mar 13	Purgatory XXXIII + conclusions on Purgatory
WK 9B Mar 15	Paradiso introduction + I, II
WK 10A Mar 20	Paradiso IV, VI, X, XI
WK 10B Mar 22	Paradiso XV, XVI, XX	Research paper final draft due
WK 11A Mar 27	Paradiso XXIII, XXIV, XXV
WK 11B Mar 29	Paradiso XXVI, XXVII, XXVIIII	SPRING BREAK: APR 3-7
WK 12A APR 10	Paradiso XXXII, XXIII
WK 12B APR 12	Paradiso: conclusions		Begin preparing for Final Exam
WK 13 APR 19	Student presentations and discussion
WK 14A/14B APR 24 / 26	Course conclusions / Final Exam review