Carol Zaleski (Smith College)
cosponsored by the Medieval Studies Workshop and the Theology & Religious Ethics Workshop
The idea of Purgatory – “that second kingdom,” as Dante puts it, “where the human soul is cleansed and made fit to ascend to Heaven” — is present in germ throughout world religions, fully articulated (and discriminated from ‘hell lite’) by the Catholic tradition, rejected by the Reformers, yet never wholly suppressed. Carol Zaleski will speak about the idea of purgatory with a view to its analogues in secular and religious literature, its ecumenical possibilities, and its enduring moral and spiritual significance.