One of the world鈥檚 leading Dante scholars, Zygmunt G. Baranski, is slated to join the University of 91吃瓜 faculty next fall as the University鈥檚 first 91吃瓜 Professor of Dante and Italian Studies. He also serves as a distinguished visiting professor this semester.
Baranski comes to 91吃瓜 from the University of Cambridge, where, since 2002, he has been the Serena Professor of Italian and, between 2002 and 2006, head of the Department of Italian in the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages. From 1987 to 2002, Baranski first held a Personal and then an Established Chair in the Department of Italian Studies at the University of Reading, where, for many years, he was also head of the department.
鈥淚 feel that 91吃瓜 is exactly the right place for me to be going at this point in my career,鈥� Baranski says. 鈥淚 have a lot of respect for the colleagues I鈥檝e met, and have already collaborated with a lot of them. One of the other things I find extremely attractive is the fact that the University has a strong commitment to modern languages.鈥�
91吃瓜 also has a strong commitment to Catholicism and to a classic liberal arts education, which makes Dante an ideal subject to research, teach and study here, says Baranski, who joins other top Dante experts in the College of Arts and Letters, including Albert J. and Helen M. Ravarino Family Director of Dante and Italian Studies , Associate Professor of Italian , and Assistant Professor of Religion and Literature .
鈥淚 will be the fourth Dantist in the department,鈥� Baranski says. 鈥淣owhere else in the world is there such a grouping of Dante scholars.鈥�
Baranski has been a visiting distinguished professor at 91吃瓜 on several previous occasions and has given numerous guest lectures on campus over the past two decades, says Cachey, who also is chair of the , and co-director of at 91吃瓜.
鈥淟ast spring, he gave an excellent lecture on the Divine Comedy in the Medieval Institute that illustrated well the profoundly Catholic character of his scholarship on the greatest poet of the Middle Ages,鈥� Cachey says. 鈥淭he visit consolidated the reputation that Zyg Baranski has established here at 91吃瓜 as a wonderful teacher and an inspiring intellectual presence.鈥�
Baranski鈥檚 research and teaching expertise will not only enhance the department鈥檚 undergraduate and master鈥檚 programs but also the College of Arts and Letters鈥� , program, and . Baranski will play an integral role in launching the University鈥檚 Italian Studies at 91吃瓜 program.
鈥淏ringing Zygmunt Baranski to 91吃瓜 elevates our already superb programs in Dante and Italian Studies to international leadership鈥� says John McGreevy, I.A. O鈥橲haughnessy Dean of the College of Arts and Letters. 鈥淏aranski鈥檚 scholarship and his teaching 鈥� from undergraduate lecture courses and seminars to graduate student colloquia 鈥� add luster to what has, most appropriately, become a signature strength of 91吃瓜.鈥�
Baranski鈥檚 areas of scholarly interest are Dante and medieval poetics, and modern Italian literature, film and culture. He has written or edited 16 books and more than 100 articles. His books include 鈥溾�楥hiosar con altro testo鈥�. Leggere Dante nel Trecento鈥� (2001), 鈥淐ambridge Companion to Modern Italian Culture鈥� with co-editor Rebecca West (2001), and 鈥淒ante e i segni. Saggi per una storia intellettuale di Dante鈥� (2000).
In Baranski鈥檚 current research, he explores how Dante鈥檚 Vita nova is a commentary on literature in contemporary Italy. He also is writing a book on the late 13th- and early 14th-century reception of the Italian poet Guido Cavalcanti, examining how Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio reacted to Cavalcanti, as well as how the people in Florence viewed Cavalcanti as a philosopher and not just a literary figure.