You are cordially invited to Talking Ed’s to be held on Friday, 14th February, 5:30 pm to 7 pm in the garden room, with Dr. Thomas Graff and Dr. Phung Dao.
Dr Thomas Graff will speak on “Love and Re-reading in Dante’s Purgatorio”
In the Comedy, Dante’s redemption arc is starkly juxtaposed with, if not theologically undercut by, the tragedy of his beloved guide Virgil. Indeed, the Roman poet is memorialized as a kind of unillumined lantern-bearer (Purgatorio, 22. 67–69), barred from basking in the very light of truth which his poetry illuminates for others. In this talk, I chart the ways in which, perhaps no less unexpectedly, the Purgatorio invites Virgil and the reader alike to re-read Virgil’s poetry in the light of the resurrection, as a newfound opening of textual meaning and relational love.
Thomas Graff is a Bye-Fellow and Director of Studies in Theology at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge; Academic Officer at St Edmund’s Von Hügel Institute for Critical Catholic Inquiry; and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Notre Dame in England. His research investigates Dante’s theology and its Augustinian dimensions, and more broadly includes Christian systematic theology, the interdependence of theological reflection and literary form, and the humanities, above all in prison contexts, as a practice of human solidarity.
Dr Phung Dao will speak on “Love, Hate, and Engagement in Online Second Language Learning”
In this talk, I will briefly introduce my recently published book Learner Engagement in the Online Second Language (L2) Classroom (Palgrave Macmillan). I will focus on research issues related to learner engagement, outline six major pedagogical implications for L2 instruction, and briefly present the proposed Engagement-Based Pedagogy (EBP) as a framework for reflecting on online L2 instruction.
Phung Dao is an Assistant Professor in Second Language Education at Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, where he teaches MPhil/MEd courses and supervises Masters/PhD students. Previously, he was a Senior Lecturer in TESOL and Applied Linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK (2018-2022) and has taught at the University of Queensland (Australia), Concordia University (Canada), and An Giang University (Vietnam). His research interests include instructed second language acquisition (ISLA), technology in language learning and teaching, L2 pedagogy, and teacher education.
Tea and coffee will be served at 5.30 pm. The seminar begins at 5.45 pm. Drinks, canapes, and cheese will be served after the seminar.
No registration required. Just drop in.
