COURSE DESCRIPTION

Florence in the age of Dante was the cultural and economic powerhouse of Europe, revolutionising the literature, art and architecture that would become the foundation of the Italian Renaissance. But the city, despite its cultural flourishing, was riven by conflict between old noble families, between banking dynasties and between political factions that sought to control the new republic. This four-week course takes you into the Florence of Dante’s day, stepping back in time through the Divine Comedy and exploring the revolution in art, politics and literature.

COURSE CONTENT

Session 1
In Paradise, Dante meets his great-great-grandfather who tells him the history of Florence and why his city had become so hostile. The words Dante put into his ancestor’s mouth were not a unique view: they were part of a historical tradition in Florence by which Dante and his contemporaries made sense of the successes and failures of their city. In this session, we step back into the 1200s to understand better the city that Dante grew up in.

Session 2
Dante was deeply embroiled in his city’s politics and he witnessed both the birth of a new republic and its dissolution into further factional in-fighting. The faction that Dante joined, however, was progressive - it was led by Florentines who sought to increase the number of ordinary people involved in city life and proposed far-reaching reforms of the political and legal systems. In this session, we explore the politics of Dante and his contemporaries, many of whom appear in Dante’s Inferno.

Session 3
Dante’s Florence was also the Florence of Giotto, the artist that the poet had seen ‘eclipse’ all others, including his master Cimabue. In this session we take a close look at the art of Giotto and how this new style, with its naturalism and expressiveness, would become the foundation of Italian Renaissance art.

Session 4
Dante was exiled from Florence in 1301 and he would never return. Nonetheless he was well aware of what was going on in his home city and makes frequent reference to its achievements and failures throughout the Divine Comedy. In this session we explore the Divine Comedy, from its composition to what it says about the Florence Dante had left behind, and its long legacy as one of the greatest works of western literature.

LECTURER

Dr Nick Gordon is a cultural historian and artist with an encyclopedic knowledge of European and Australian art. His research on the Italian Middle Ages and Renaissance has won numerous academic scholarships and prizes (including a University of Sydney medal and a PhD in history), and has been published in Renaissance Studies, one of the most respected academic publications in the field. He has over fifteen years’ experience speaking about history and art history to university and adult audiences.

COURSE STRUCTURE

4 x 1.5 hour sessions Each session includes an interactive lecture and time for group discussion.

COURSE DATES

Tuesdays 10:00-11:30AM

25 August 2020 | 1 September 2020 | 8 September 2020 | 15 September 2020

REQUIREMENTS

This course does not require any assumed knowledge. Sessions require access to ZOOM (which is free), a device with a camera (such as a tablet or computer with a webcam), and an internet connection.

BOOKING

Please note that all times are in Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC +10)