Resilience as a Pathway to Joy in Dante’s Purgatory
"Copping an Attitude: Resilience as a Pathway to Joy in Dante’s Purgatory" by Amanda Quantz, PhD is the second lecture of the Franciscan Zoom Lecture Series - Fall 2024 Semester, hosted by the Franciscan School of Theology at the University of San Diego.
In Christian history, heresy is often defined by the passage of time. True heresy, though, is a conscious adherence to falsehood. Dante’s portrayal of hell and purgatory reveals the fine line between stubbornness and tenacity. Love requires persistent effort for the sake of others. Today, many marriages fail due to one spouse’s choice: to be right or to be married. Dante’s Franciscan worldview emphasizes virtue ethics. Sin is sin, regardless of attitude. Inspired by Dante, this lecture by Amanda Quantz, Professor of Theology at the University of Saint Mary, focuses on tenacity as a path to joy.
Amanda Quantz, PhD
Professor of Theology at the University of Saint Mary
Amanda Quantz is a Professor of Theology. She has taught at the University of Saint Mary (Leavenworth, KS) since 2011 in areas as diverse as systematic theology, church history, pastoral ministry and spirituality. Her areas of specialzation include the Middle Ages, Byzantine Christianity, Christology, Franciscan religious history, chaplaincy and Dante's Divine Comedy. She also accompanies graduate students in California who are working to develop pastoral skills for ever-evolving contexts. The author of Radical Hospitalilty for a Prophetic Church (Lexington Books, 2020), Dr. Quantz has also served as a hospital chaplain and street minister in a range of settings, including shelters, food pantries, libraries, prisons, and sidewalks.