Welcome to the Fall 2023 registration for
Yale Alumni College 

Course Description: 

Dante’s descent into hell makes for especially powerful reading at a time like the present when the “dark side” of both our country and ourselves has become so apparent. His exploration of evil shows it to be a turning away from the good, with a consequent loss of integrity that is as much social and political as personal. And yet it is in the poet’s individual encounters with the damned, at once theological and psychological in their depth, that we find his particular genius on display. Participants will be guided by presentations of the text that look at both broad structures and specific moments. There will be the regular opportunity to ask questions and to engage in a more open discussion.

Course Materials: 

The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Vol 1. Robert Durling and Ron Martinez (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).

Available in paperback and on Kindle. This edition of the poem is bilingual, has excellent notes and commentary, and (in the recommended print version) wide margins for note taking. While there are many other versions of the text you may want to consult, in this seminar it is essential that we all be “on the same page” with the Durling edition.

Course Syllabus: 

Week 1: September 27-Prologue Scenes: INF 1-2

Week 2: October 4 - Classical Heritage: INF 3-4

Week 3: October 11 -  Love and Hate: INF 5-9
Focus: Francesca (5) and Filippo Argenti (8)

Week 4: October 18 - Politics and Identity:  INF 10-16
Focus: Farinata (10), Pier Delle Vigna (13), Brunetto Latini (15)  

Week 5: October 25 - Popes and Hypocrites:  INF 17-23
Focus: Popes (19), Hypocrites (23)

Week 6: November 1 - Reining in Genius: INF 24-27
  Focus: Ulysses (26) 

Week 7: November 8 - Hitting Bottom: INF 28-32
Maestro Adam and Sinon the Greek (30)

Week 8: November 15 - The Worst: INF 33-34 (& PURG 1)
Focus: Ugolino (33)

To view our other courses please visit our website.

Peter Hawkins
Dante's Path to Hell

Wednesdays, September 27 - November 15,
5:30-7pm ET

Course Fee: $400.00

Professor Peter Hawkins

Peter Hawkins’ work has long centered on the author of the “Commedia.” In addition to essays and chapters there are his books: “Dante’s Testaments: Essays on Scriptural Imagination,” (1999), “The Poets’ Dante: Twentieth-Century Responses” (2001), co-edited with Rachel Jacoff, and “Dante: A Brief History” (2006). The poet features as well in his expansion of his 2007 Beecher Lectures on Preaching in “Undiscovered Country: Imagining the World to Come (2009)”. His research in the history of biblical reception has led to three coedited volumes to which he also contributed essays, “Scrolls of Love: Ruth and the Song of Songs” (2006), “Medieval Readings of Romans” (2007), and “From the Margin I: Women of the Hebrew Bible and their Afterlives” (2009). Together with Paula Carlson he edited the Augsburg Fortress four-volume series, “Listening for God: Contemporary Literature and the Life of Faith.” He has also written on twentieth-century fiction (“The Language of Grace”), utopia (“Getting Nowhere”), and the language of ineffability (“Naming the Unnamable from Dante to Beckett”). Professor Hawkins’ essays have dealt with such topics as memory and memorials, televangelism, scriptural interpretation, and preaching. His most recent book, co-written with Lesleigh Cushing Stahlberg, is “The Bible and the American Short Story” (2018). He is Professor of Religion and Literature Emeritus at the Yale Divinity School. 

Scroll down for YACOL policies and regulations.

Class sizes will be limited to 17 participants. Class participation will be on a first come, first served basis. If a class has more than 17 participants sign up, a wait list will be started. Should a participant be placed on a wait list he/she will be notified by e-mail.

CANCELLATION POLICY:

Participants can cancel and receive a full refund up to September 11. After September 11, there will be no refunds issued.
If Yale Alumni College cancels any course prior to its start, you may sign up for another course or your fee will be fully refunded.

CODE OF CONDUCT:

•           Yale Alumni College expects all participants to be respectful of the thoughts and opinions of the others expressed in the classroom including faculty. 
•           All participants are encouraged to participate in the discussion and to express opinions freely in a way that respects others in the class. 
•           Participants should conduct themselves responsibly and respectfully at all times in the classroom and at any group outing organized by Yale Alumni Association. 
•           Please be aware of your personal limitations if you choose to consume any alcoholic beverage during class. 
•           In the event of disruptive behavior, YACOL reserves the right to terminate an individual's participation in the class without refund.

IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
Please be sure to complete all pages of this informational form.   You MUST choose your course at the bottom of the Registration Page to properly complete Registration.  Then be sure to click the final "Click to Complete Registration" button. Your reservation has not been received by the YAA until you complete payment information on final screen.  Please double check that the name of the class you want to register for is correct before confirming registration.
You will receive a summary email immediately after you complete your registration.

PLEASE NOTE:
If you are registering your spouse or a family member, please select "Register a Guest" at the bottom of the main registration page. Please ensure you check the class name for each guest as well. All guests pay the same registration fee. If you have any questions on registration, please contact Sharon.small@yale.edu. 

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