Conversations among the Living and the Dead: Counterpoint in Action in the English Curriculum

Abstract

Terms such as ‘conversation’, ‘dialogue’, ‘counterpoint’, ‘polyphony’ and ‘improvisation’ have been proposed for the relationship between canonical and contemporary texts in a postcolonial English curriculum. Drawing on the experience of teaching Dante's Inferno to undergraduates, this article explores the ritual dimension of teaching suggested by the connection of ‘conversation’ with conversio: the rotation of multiple, diverse intellectual ‘spheres’. Dante's poem mimics and extends the classroom in the sense that learning takes place through various kinds of interactive encounters: between poet and reader; Dante and Virgil; Dante, Virgil and the damned; teacher and student; student and student; Italian and English; Dante and other poets ancient and modern; Dante's selva oscura and each student's personal journey. These conversational spheres intersect, merge and rotate in ways that are not always as harmonious as the music of the spheres but are nevertheless challenging and energizing. In addition, each has a ritual quality which, once recognized and considered, enhances the dialogue among the living and the dead. The authors refer to aspects of medieval pedagogy and liturgy to make preliminary suggestions about the conscious use of ritual elements in the practice of teaching across cultural and historical boundaries, so as to avoid the limitations of historicism and presentism.