Dante’s pilgrimage in the Divina Commedia exemplifies a profound change of mind and heart, one that for centuries has inspired countless spiritual seekers. Particularly in the concluding canto, Paradiso, the poet presents the insights and impetus for a contemplative practice that guides the seeker toward mystical union with the divine.
Read from another perspective, Dante’s magnum opus marks a stage in the Western reception of Islam.
His placement of the prophet Muhammad among the schismatics and of Saladin among the righteous unbaptized represents a range of reactions toward the Muslim world that continued to evolve in the following centuries. Over this period a change of attitude from hostility to toleration to engagement has opened the way for the many interreligious encounters that now exist and that offer a vivid example of “minds being remade” and, consequently, of the world being changed.
Dennis McAuliffe, who has written on Dante and contemplation, and Jane McAuliffe, whose publications deal with Islam and interreligious understanding, will speak from their respective areas of expertise.
Leader
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Jane McAuliffe
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Jane McAuliffe is a senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs at Georgetown University. Her previous positions include inaugural Director of National and International Outreach at the Library of Congress, President of Bryn Mawr College, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Georgetown University, and Professor at the University of Toronto and Emory University. McAuliffe has published extensively on Islam and the Qur’an, including the six-volume Encyclopaedia of the Qur’an. Her work has been supported by the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Bellagio Center of the Rockefeller Foundation. She is past president of the American Academy of Religion, a member of the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Union Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants.
Other Leaders
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Dennis McAuliffe
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Dennis McAuliffe is an Affiliated Scholar in the Italian Department at Georgetown University. Before his retirement in 2018, he served as Special Assistant to the President for Contemplatives in Action at Georgetown. During most of his university career, McAuliffe was a professor of Italian language and literature, holding positions at Georgetown University, Bryn Mawr College, the University of Toronto, Emory University and New York University. McAuliffe works primarily on medieval and Renaissance Italian literature and has published on Vittoria Colonna, Boccaccio, and Dante.
Register for the Full Series
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Register for full series (get 10 talks for the price of 7)
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All sessions include a led meditation
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Time to interact with the speakers
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Unlimited access to recordings
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