The Leeds Centre for Dante Studies
Directors
Dr
Claire Honess
Dr
Matthew Treherne
Postgraduate Fellow
Ruth Chester
NEWS: Discovering Dante: Public Events, Autumn 2009
Public Lectures: Art and Literature in Dante's Tuscany
Leeds Centre for Dante Studies Programme, 2009-10
Leeds-Notre Dante Dante and Medieval Culture Symposium, University of Notre Dame, 8 September 2009
National Study Days for Undergraduates: Dante and Politics (December 2009 (UK); March 2010 (Republic of Ireland))
New MA module: Theologus-poeta: Dante and Medieval Theology
Reviewing Dante's Theology: Centre for Dante
Studies Research Project
Claire Honess discusses Dante on BBC Radio 4: Listen here
Updates on Leeds Dante Podcast
The Leeds Centre for Dante Studies promotes the study of Dante from a variety of disciplinary and methodological perspectives, both within the University of Leeds and beyond. It does so by initiating a dynamic programme of research activity and collaboration; supporting and enriching undergraduate and postgraduate study; and bringing Dante to a wider public through its open lectures and podcasts.
The Centre is based in
the Department of Italian at the University of Leeds. Following the 2008
Research Assessment Exercise, the Guardian has ranked the Department
second in the league table of all UK Italian Departments, with
all of its research rated as being internationally recognised in terms of
its originality, significance and rigour, and 75% of its work being classed
as 'internationally excellent' or 'world-leading'.
If you would like to be informed of events run by the Leeds Centre for Dante
Studies, please join our
mailing
list.
Research
We aim to create a vibrant environment for research on Dante, organising seminars, lectures, and sessions at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds. Our current research focus is on Dante's Theology, and we are currently running a major research project entitled Reviewing Dante's Theology. This project brought several of the world's leading scholars of Dante's theology to Leeds in March 2009, to work together on a volume of essays which will provide the most comprehensive available overview of Dante's religious thought.
On the basis of the 2007 sessions at the IMC, the Directors of the Centre are editing a volume of essays provisionally entitled 'Se mai continga che il poema sacro ...': Politics, Exile and Theology in Dante, to be published by Longo editore (Ravenna).
Postgraduate Study and Research
The Centre supports graduate students at the University of Leeds working on topics related to Dante, offering them a rich research environment. In 2009-10 a new module is being launched for MA students at the Institute for Medieval Studies, entitled Theologus-poeta: Dante and Medieval Theology. For information on postgraduate study on Dante in Leeds, click here. For details of postgraduate study in the Department of Italian more generally, click here.
Undergraduate Study
The Centre supports and enriches undergraduate study of Dante, both within Leeds and nationally. Leeds students are able to benefit from the research programme in Dante studies, and are given support in doing so through the Faculty of Arts Students as Scholars programme, which was developed within the Department of Italian.
The Centre organises annual study days, which are open to students from any UK university, on a topic related to Dante. We also run a study day in Cork, for students across the Republic of Ireland, in collaboration with University College Cork. The third Leeds study day, scheduled for 5th December 2009, will be on the topic of 'Dante and Politics '. For more information, click here. The next Cork study day, on the same topic, is scheduled for 5th March 2010.
The Leeds Centre for Dante Studies Essay Prize is awarded annually for the best essays by final-year and second-year students. The prize is open to undergraduates at any UK university, and is judged by a panel of academics drawn from across the UK and internationally. For more information, click here.
In collaboration with Abigail Brundin (University of Cambridge), the Centre ran two national workshops on teaching medieval and early-modern culture in modern languages courses in 2008. For more information, click here.
Public events
The Centre aims to bring Dante to the broadest possible public, running events which are open to all. In Autumn 2009, we will run a season of public events entitledDiscovering Dante. These events include an evening of poetry, music and art at the Howard Assembly Room in the Grand Theatre in Leeds, an exhibition of editions of Dante at the Brotherton Library in Leeds, and a series of public lectures entitled Art and Literature in Dante's Tuscany. The aim of the lectures will be to provide an accessible and enjoyable introduction to Dante, Giotto and Duccio. These lectures build on the success of the Department of Italian's recent public lectures on Art and Literature in Siena, 1250-1600 and The Culture of Renaissance Venice. If you would like further information about the Discovering Dante Season, including the public lectures, please click here.
Through the Centre's podcast – the first English-language podcast devoted to Dante – it will be possible to access from across the world short episodes exploring aspects of Dante, including introductions to parts of Dante’s work, interviews with international scholars, experts, and discussions of recent developments in Dante studies. For more information, click here.
In March 2007, Christian Moevs (University of Notre Dame) gave a public lecture on ‘Dante and God’; in April 2008 Vittorio Montemaggi (University of Cambridge) gave an open introduction to Dante, as part of his Visiting Fellowship in the Centre.
For more information, and to receive updates by email on future events, please contact the Centre's Directors, Claire Honess (c.e.honess@leeds.ac.uk) and Matthew Treherne (m.treherne@leeds.ac.uk).