Dante in the news

Just when you thought Dante was the stuff of the fourteenth century, The New York Times publishes an article to remind you of just how wrong you are. Ralph Blumenthal uses Dante's formulation of Hell to explain (in some ways) why Bernie Madoff's recent sentence was so harsh--one he suggests is "more than some killers." The article also quotes Robert Pinsky, who offers his perspective on why fraud lands you in the ninth, frozen level of Hell--three-headed Satan and all.

Luther Film Viewing

As we approach the end of March, we also approach "Luther week". Along with our reading, we'll be watching the film Luther outside of class (replacement for canceled April session). Please log on to the wiki, and list what time slots work for you on the Luther Viewing page.

Extra Credit Blog Opportunity

FOURTH ANNUAL DIVERSE STUDENTS' LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
March 18-20, 2009
Saint Mary's College. Notre Dame, Indiana

Closing Keynote Speaker: Dr. Julianne Malveaux
Opening Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Fluri

This conference is structured to allow participants opportunities to:

(1) Identify the challenges and underlying prejudices that exist in various social institutions.
(2) Develop educational and interactive skills to transform the challenges of diversity into opportunities.
(3) Become empowered leaders actively promoting the advantages of diversity.

DSLC brings together professionals, faculty, community members and students from different universities. Workshop topics include issues of class, politics of difference, peace and conflict, immigration, global inequality, sexual orientation, peace and conflict, cultural and religious diversity. To check out a list of possible workshops or to sign up, go to this website. ** The deadline for registration is Friday, March 13th.

A highlight of this year’s DSLC promises to be our keynote speaker Dr. Julianne Malveaux President of Bennett College for Women. Recognized for her progressive and insightful observations, she is also an economist, author and commentator, and has been described by Dr. Cornel West as “the most iconoclastic public intellectual in the country.” Dr. Malveaux’s contributions to the public dialogue on issues such as race, culture, gender, and their economic impacts, are shaping public opinion in 21st century America.

For more information, please contact Multicultural Services and Student Programs at Saint Mary's College at (574) 284-4721 or at lolinort@saintmarys.edu

Digital Mind Mapping

As a follow up to our conversation about mind mapping and Short Paper 1, I wanted to post the recent article, "11 Free Mind Mapping Applications & Web Services". For those of you who prefer working and thinking with the aid of a computer (and for whom the very thought of drawing ideas on a piece of paper sends a shiver down your spine), these digital mind mapping programs will offer you the same service without the reliance on the material realm. Another great online resource is XMind. You can download the software for free onto your computer and design some pretty amazing conceptual maps using traditional mapping techniques, outlines, lists, notes, and "fish" diagrams. Now, go forth and map!

New & Improved Course Schedule

I've recently created a "new and improved" way to keep track of course readings and requirements: the course schedule link. With it, I've combined our reading schedule with your various written assignments, wiki notes, and discussion leading dates. In other words, this will be a one-stop-shop for almost everything related to class. Please let me know if you have other suggestions--in fact, this page came as a result of Caitilin's request in class--so keep them coming!

Bloggers Challenge!

For your next blog post, I challenge you to compose your own Petrarchan sonnet, following (as many as is humanly possible) of the conventions we discussed in class. These include:

• Octave / Sestet
• rhyme scheme
• iambic pentameter
• themes of love, love lost, love unfulfilled
  
• enjambment (your sentences can spill over several lines)

For reference, return to the Poetry resource page on the wiki. After you're done or even while you work, record your experiences in trying to mirror Petrarch's poetry. Where do you run into difficulty? What was surprisingly easy/fun?

Poetry Page

Go check out the new resource page, Poetry: Sonnets & Lyric, on the wiki. You'll find helpful links as well as a summary and comparison between the different kinds of sonnets we'll study this term.

For your reading, you might find the following questions helpful:

• Why do you think Petrarch chose this particular literary form to express his thoughts?
• Do you notice any similarities/differences between the lyric Petrarch and the "secret" Petrarch from the dialogue we read last time?