The Unity of Knowledge in the Pre-modern World: Petrarch and Boccaccio between the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance
The Unity of Knowledge
Internationally renowned scholars are invited to discuss and rethink the historical, intellectual, and literary roles of Petrarch and Boccaccio between the great model of Dante’s encyclopedia, and the ideas of a double or multifaceted culture in the era of Italian Renaissance Humanism. In his lyrical poems and Latin treatises, Petrarch, on the one hand, created a cultural pattern that was both Christian and Classical, exercising immense influence on the Western World in the centuries to come. Boccaccio, on the other hand, translated this pattern into his own vernacular narratives and erudite works, ultimately claiming as his own achievement the reconstructed unity of the Ancient Greek and Latin world in his contemporary age. The Conference aims to reconsider Petrarch’s and Boccaccio’s intellectual and literary heritages from different perspectives (philosophical, theological, historical, philological, paleographical, literarily, theoretically), and to investigate how these heritages shaped the cultural transition between the end of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era.
Conference Program | |
TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014 (BY INVITATION ONLY) | |
17.30 | Guided Tour of the Italian Embassy and Greeting of The Ambassador |
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2014 (OPEN TO THE PUBLIC) | |
9.30-10.00 | Arrival and Registration for Panelists |
10.00-10.30 | Welcome Greetings and Introductory Remarks by Prof. Joachim Küpper – Dahlem Humanities Center H.E. Elio Menzione, The Italian Ambassador in Berlin Prof. Bernhard Huss – Italienzentrum Berlin Dr. Igor Candido – Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung |
Panel I: Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio | |
10.30-11.15 | Manuele Gragnolati (University of Oxford, UK), Francesca Southerden (Wellesley College, USA) “From Paradox to Exclusivity: Dante’s and Petrarch’s Lyrical Eschatologies” |
11.15-12.00 | Gerhard Regn (LMU München, Germany) “The incipit of the Decameron: Boccaccio, Dante and the Epistemic Index of Storytelling” |
12.00-12.45 | Igor Candido (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany) “Dante’s Theological Judgment and Boccaccio’s Suspension of Assent” |
12.45-14.30 Break | |
Panel II: Petrarch | |
14.30-15.15 | H. Wayne Storey (Indiana University, USA) “The Formation of Knowledge and Petrarch's Books” |
15.15-16.00 | Karl A. E. Enenkel (Münster Universität, Germany): “Sacra solitudo. The Construction of the Sacred Space in Petrarch's De vita solitaria” |
16.00-16.15 Break | |
16.15-17.00 | Christopher S. Celenza (American Academy in Rome and Johns Hopkins University, USA) “Petrarch and the History of Philosophy” |
17.00-17.45 | Ronald Witt (Duke University, USA) “Petrarch and the Creation of the Christian Humanism” |
17.45-18.15 | Final Discussion |
THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2014 (OPEN TO THE PUBLIC) | |
Panel III: Boccaccio | |
10.00-10.45 | Andreas Kablitz (Universität Köln, Germany) “Boccaccio’s Poetics. Remarks on the Proemio of the Decameron” |
10.45-11.30 | Francesco Ciabattoni (Georgetown University, USA) “Boccaccio’s Novel Hecuba: Beritola in the Light of Ovid’s Metamorphoses” |
11.30-11.45 Break | |
11.45-12.30 | Marco Petoletti (Università Cattolica di Milano, Italy) “Boccaccio, i classici e il Medioevo latino” |
12.30-13.15 | Paolo Cherchi (University of Chicago, USA) “Gli inventori delle cose nel De genealogia di Boccaccio” |
13.15-15.00 Break | |
Panel IV: Petrarch, Boccaccio, and Beyond | |
15.00-15.45 | Giuseppe Mazzotta (Yale University, USA) “Boccaccio's Critique of Petrarch” |
15.45-16.30 | Renzo Bragantini (Università La Sapienza di Roma, Italy) “Petrarca, Boccaccio, e lo spazio della letteratura volgare” |
16.30-16.45 Break | |
16.45-17.30 | Giorgio Ficara (Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy) “Petrarca e la fiaba delle fondazioni (Fam. I, 4)” |
17.30-18.15 | Giulio Ferroni (Università La Sapienza di Roma, Italy) “Tra Petrarca e Boccaccio. Strategie della fine” |
18.15-19.00 | Final Discussion and Conclusive Remarks |
FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014 (BY INVITATION ONLY) | |
10.00-12.00 | Manuscript Exhibition at the Staatsbibliothek Berlin, Handschriftenabteilung, Potsdamer Straße 33, 10785 Berlin Introduction by Dott. Giuliano Staccioli |
Concept and organization by Igor Candido, with the collaboration and support of the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, the Dahlem Humanities Center and the Italienzentrum of Freie Universität Berlin.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Igor Candido, Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow
icandido@zedat.fu-berlin.de
http://fu-berlin.academia.edu/IgorCandido
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Time & Location
Jun 11, 2014 - Jun 12, 2014
Freie Universität Berlin „Rostlaube“, Seminarzentrum, Raum L 116, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem