The Notre Dame–Yale Dante Seminar, Dante and the Theological Virtues, brings together an international group of scholars for three days of focused discussion on faith, hope, and charity in Dante’s work. Organized around thematic sessions that combine presentations with extended discussion, the seminar explores how the theological virtues shape the Commedia and its broader intellectual context, while also opening onto questions of literary tradition and canon formation before and after Dante.
The seminar is co-sponsored by the Center for Italian Studies, the Devers Family Program in Dante Studies, Notre Dame Rome, the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, the ND Global Catholic Research Initiative, and the ND Cultivating Hope Forum (2025–26).
Participation is by invitation only.
Program
Notre Dame–Yale Dante Seminar
Dante and the Theological Virtues
Monday, May 25, 2026
Afternoon: Faith
2.30-4.00: Presentations
Chair: Zyg Barański (Cambridge-Notre Dame)
(i) Matthias Bürghel (Erlangen-Nürnberg), “San Pietro, campione della fede,
nel cielo delle Stelle Fisse”
(ii) Giuseppe Ledda (Bologna), “‘La fede mia’: modelli e percorsi della fede
nell’autorappresentazione di Dante nella Commedia”
(iii) Bruna Lorenzin (Torino), “Alla corte delle virtù: il celeste esame dantesco
e il modello peraldiano”
4.00-4.30: Break
4.30-5.30: Discussion
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Morning: Hope
9.30-11.00: Presentations
Chair: Heather Webb (Yale)
(i) Helena Phillips-Robins (Cambridge), “ ‘Vostra pioggia repluo’ (Par.
25.78): Reading, Writing, and the Practice of Hope”
(ii) Nicolò Maldina (Bologna), “Dante between Charity and Hope”
(iii) Charlie West (Yale), “From Sodomites to Saints: Pedagogical Models in
the Commedia”
11.00-11.30: Break
11.30-12.30: Discussion
Afternoon: Charity
2.30-4.00: Presentations
Chair: Ted Cachey (Notre Dame)
(i) Heather Webb (Yale), “Sparks and Snow: The Shifting Atmospheres of Love
in Dante’s Paradiso (26-27)”
(ii) Giovanna de Campos Mauro (Yale), “La performance angelica e la
trasmissione della carità”
(iii) Anna Pegoretti & Veronica Albi (Cambridge-Roma Tre), “La carità come
virtù civica tra Santa Croce e la Commedia”
4.00-4.30: Break
4.30-5.30: Discussion
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Morning: Forming the Dantean Canon Before and After the “Commedia”
8.45-10.15: Presentations
Chair: Francesco Feriozzi (Notre Dame)
(i) Stefano Asperti (Roma “La Sapienza”), “ ‘Probitas armorum’ (Dve 2.2.7):
possibile significato e rilevanza effettiva di un riferimento in qualche modo
trascurato”
(ii) Sara Ferrilli (Unilink), “Dante nel Quattrocento: la ‘Comedìa’ di Giovanni
Michele Alberto Carrara”
(iii) Anthony Nussmeier (Dallas), “Dante’s ‘Canon in D(ve)’: Medieval Italian
Literary Culture and the De vulgari eloquentia”
10.15-10.45: Break
10.45-11.45: Discussion
Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.