Dante and Boccaccio: Mythographers of Modernity

The Center for Medieval Studies at Fordham University
Spring 2010 Lecture Series

Dante and Boccaccio: Mythographers of Modernity

A Lecture by
Prof. Pier Massimo Forni
Johns Hopkins University

Wednesday, February 24th, 5:00 p.m.
Faculty Lounge, 12th Floor, Leon Lowenstein Building, Lincoln Center Campus

The lecture is free and open to the public. A Reception will follow the talk.

For both Dante and Boccaccio, paleophilia(i.e., love for things past) was the passport into a realm of intellectual aristocracy. A love of Antiquity shaped their identities and their works with the intensity of a first love. This talk will illustrate the dynamics through which Dante put the love of Antiquity to the service of his project to become the pre-eminent poet-prophet of modernity. A glance at Boccaccio’s identity-building as a process much influenced by the figure and the work of Dante completes the talk. This lecture is co-sponsored with Literary Studies, the Department of Modern Languages and Literature, and the Dean of Arts and Sciences Faculty.

For more information, contact:
Center for Medieval Studies
Fordham University
(718) 817-4655
medievals@fordham.edu

Directions: http://www.fordham.edu/discover_fordham/maps_and_directions_26615.asp

Matthew Richmond
Administrative Assistant
Center for Medieval Studies
Fordham University
medievals@fordham.edu
(t) 718.817.4655
(f) 718.817.3987