(Italian Studies) Dante Among Theologians: Conference Panels on Dante’s Commedia
The Center for Italian Studies and the Devers Family Program in Dante Studies, in collaboration with the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, are pleased to present two panels as part of the upcoming “That Which I Also Received: Living Tradition,” the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture’s 25th Fall Conference (November 13–15, 2025, University of Notre Dame). These panels explore the theological and poetic dimensions of Dante’s Commedia and form part of the ongoing project “Dante Among Theologians,” a collaboration between the Center for Italian Studies and the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture. The panels are also included in the 2025-26 Notre Dame Forum, “Cultivating Hope.”
Panel I: Dante Among Theologians
1:30–2:45 p.m. | Friday, November 14, 2025 | Morris Inn, Private Dining Room
Chair: Theodore J. Cachey, Jr. (University of Notre Dame)
- Filippo Gianferrari (UC Santa Cruz), The Heart of Dante’s Hope: The Resurrection in Ante-Purgatory
- Vittorio Montemaggi (Notre Dame London / Von Hügel Institute, Cambridge University), Hope in Hell
- Paola Nasti (Northwestern University), The Unity of Hope: The Creed, the Church, and Things to Come (Par. XXIV–XXVI)
Panel II: “Your High Desire Will Be Fulfilled”: Hope and Theology in Dante
9:00–10:15 a.m. | Saturday, November 15, 2025 | McKenna 215
Chair: Vittorio Montemaggi (University of Notre Dame)
- Demetrio S. Yocum (University of Notre Dame), Hope That Endures: Rethinking Dante’s Commedia in Luigi Santucci’s Eschaton – A Soul’s Journey
- Rev. Stephen Chase Pepper, C.S.C. (King’s College), Icons of Hope: Christ and Nella in Purgatorio 23
Links to speakers’ bios and abstracts can be found here.
Both sessions bring together scholars working at the intersection of theology and literature, offering new perspectives on Dante’s vision of human and divine reality.
Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.