DSA Graduate Student Group

The DSA Graduate Group aims to bring together graduate members of the Dante Society of America and all students and recent graduates interested in Dante’s life and works. It provides a space to share proposals and ideas that would benefit Dante scholars in the making, and to express needs and concerns about their academic and professional careers in Dante studies.

The first virtual meeting of the Graduate Group was held on February 16, 2022, and saw the participation of a great number of DSA student members. Future meetings will also be held remotely, in order to facilitate a broader attendance. Through its platforms and bulletin, the Graduate Group aims to build a tight-knit community where communications can be rapid and wide-reaching, and to bring visibility to the initiatives of the DSA and widen its public outreach.

To subscribe to the DSA Graduate Group mailing list, please register via the following link: http://eepurl.com/hVPVcf

For any other questions or communications, please write to: dantesociety.graduate@gmail.com

Martina Franzini, Johns Hopkins University
Massimiliano Lorenzon, University of Pennsylvania
Jessica Ruffolo, University of Calgary

We remain grateful to the founding members of the DSA Graduate Group, and congratulate them on the successful completion of their doctoral studies and for receiving the inaugural DSA Presidential Service Awards in 2023:

Leonardo Chiarantini, University of Michigan
Mario Sassi, University of Pennsylvania
Paolo Scartoni, Rutgers University



Graduate Student Service Opportunities

The Dante Society of America is pleased to announce a new initiative to engage graduate students more fully in the work of the Society, a volunteer organization with a long and illustrious history. We are inviting graduate students to collaborate in a number of ways under the mentorship of our councilors, committee chairs, and officers. Opportunities may include copy-editing, in English or Italian, for Dante Studies; working with the editor of the on-line journal, Dante Notes; writing short biographies for our Honorary Members and Fellows to be posted on our website; assisting the Communications Director with social media; collaborating with Education and Outreach; organizing events for and maintaining the Graduate Group; or compiling the annual American Dante Bibliography. Interested graduate students can write directly to the officer in charge of areas in which they would like to collaborate (Dante Notes, Dante Studies, Communications, Education and Outreach, Bibliography) or to the President or the Secretary of the Society for more information.

Students who have served the Society in some significant capacity can nominate themselves or their peers for the Presidential Service Award.


Upcoming Events

Con ingegno e con arte: A Roundtable on Methodologies and Approaches to Teaching Dante

The second workshop of the Graduate Student Group of the Dante Society of America was held on April 4, 2023. Our guests included Professors Catherine Adoyo (University of Richmond), Fabian Alfie (University of Arizona), Eleonora Buonocore (University of Calgary), and Gary Cestaro (DePaul University).

Spring Reading Group: Brunetto Latini's Rettorica

In Spring 2023, the DSA Graduate Group read and discussed Brunetto Latini's La Rettorica.

The group met three times: February 16, March 23, and April 20 at 2pm ET via Zoom. This semester three professors helped us get the most from our readings.

The first meeting - February 16 - saw the participation of Professor Eugenio Refini, Associate Professor of Italian at New York University. We discussed the first part of the Rettorica, up to page 50 of the Italian text (Latini, La rettorica, a cura di F. Maggini, Firenze, Le Monnier, 1968) - or p. 47 of the English (ed. Stefania D'Agata D'Ottavi).

Interested graduate students can email dantesociety.graduate@gmail.com for more information.


Previous Events

Fall Reading Group: Brunetto Latini's Tesoretto

In Fall 2022, the DSA Graduate Group hosted a reading group on Brunetto Latini’s Tesoretto. The first session was held on September 23 from 2-3 pm EST. Participants read and discussed the dedication and incipit (verses 1-282). Catherine Keen (Professor of Dante Studies at University College London) joined this first meeting and to help kick off the reading group with introductory tips on how to read Brunetto’s works.

Subsequent reading group meetings were held on October 21, November 18, and December 9.

Roundtable on Job Market Challenges

On November 11, 2022, at 5pm, the DSA Graduate Group hosted "'L’alto lavoro' A Roundtable on the Challenges of the Job Market," featuring four speakers: Laura Ingallinella, Akash Kumar, Arielle Saber, and Alessandro Vettori (see flyerfor details).