Encountering Dante’s Beatrice: Poetry, Persons, Theology and Thought
- Date: Thursday 8 July 2021, 12:30 – 18:00
- Location: Off-campus
- Type: Conferences
- Cost: There is no delegate fee for the conference, but registration is required.
This two-day online conference, held on Zoom, will examine critical questions raised by the figure of Dante’s Beatrice.
Conference
8 and 9 July 2021
Papers will consider the following questions:
- What role does Beatrice play in Dante’s poetic, theological and philosophical projects?
- How might recent developments in our understanding of Dante’s works and context affect scholars’ (often unspoken) assumptions about the figure of Beatrice?
- What is the importance of biographical and historical information in interpreting Dante’s Beatrice?
- How do the differing presentations of Beatrice across all of Dante’s works affect our reading of those texts – and to what extent is it legitimate to think of her as a consistent presence in Dante’s opus?
- What can past debates about the figure of Beatrice, and representations of her, still contribute to reading Dante today?
How to register
Please email Matthew Treherne (m.treherne@leeds.ac.uk) to register interest in attending, or for further information.
Speakers include:
- Dr David Bowe (University College Cork)
- Dr George Corbett (University of St Andrews)
- Professor Emeritus Peter Hawkins (Yale University)
- Dr Tristan Kay (University of Bristol)
- Dr Catherine Keen (University College London)
- Dr Patricia Kelly (Leeds Trinity University)
- Professor Elena Lombardi (University of Oxford)
- Dr Vittorio Montemaggi (King’s College London/Von Hügel Institute)
- Dr Abigail Rowson (University of Leeds)
- Dr Erik Van Versendaal (Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts)
- Dr Heather Webb (University of Cambridge).
Online reading groups
In a series of online reading groups leading up to the conference, we’ll discuss some key texts on Dante’s Beatrice. For each reading group, extracts of the texts discussed will be circulated in advance. The reading groups will be held on Zoom; please register in advance using the links below.
26 January 2021, 3pm
Early vernacular commentaries on the appearance of Beatrice in Purgatorio XXX (with Simon Gilson, University of Oxford).
Register now
24 February 2021, 2pm
Etienne Gilson, Dante the Philosopher
Register now
17 March 2021, 3pm
Charles Williams, The Figure of Beatrice: A Study in Dante
Register now
5 May 2021, 3pm
Charles Singleton, Dante Studies II: Journey to Beatrice
Register now
Hosted by the Leeds Centre for Dante Studies, with support from the Modern Humanities Research Association Conference fund
Organisers: Dr Abigail Rowson and Professor Matthew Treherne
