Research Symposium

BIO

Helena Helmke is a sophomore at Florida State University, majoring in History and International Affairs. Currently, she serves as a UROP research assistant for Dr. Elizabeth Coggeshall on the project Dante Today. In this role, Helena contributes to the digital archive cataloging references to Dante Alighieri’s "Divine Comedy" across various forms of media, including adaptations, quotations, and even superficial mentions. Her work primarily involves transferring and curating archived content to a new, more user-friendly platform. Helena’s primary academic interests lie in 20th-century history, with a focus on the United States, Europe, and East Asia. Despite her historical focus, she is also passionate about Dante’s works, particularly the "Divine Comedy," and enjoys exploring their cultural and historical significance. Helena gained a diverse research experience through her semester abroad in London, and she plans to continue her academic journey with honors in her major, aiming to deepen her research and knowledge in history. Beyond her academic pursuits, Helena is deeply engaged in philanthropy on campus. She has served on multiple philanthropy committees for various student organizations. She looks forward to further developing her research skills and contributing to meaningful projects throughout her academic career.

The Resonance of Dante’s Works in the 20th and 21st Century

Abstract

Medieval Italian poet Dante Alighieri is widely considered one of the greatest writers in history with his most famous work, The Divine Comedy, resonating across time and culture. The influential nature of Dante’s works inspired the project Dante Today, which is a digital archive created to catalog and cite references to Dante across varying media. The archive employs a crowd-sourcing method to collect data, allowing the public the opportunity to upload a sighting of the references they uncover. The references archived range from superficial uses of Dante’s name to direct quotations to adaptations of his epic poem. Currently, the website is undergoing a transition to a more user-friendly platform. In our work to transition to the new version of the website, our team has been copying old posts to be uploaded. The transference of the old posts to the new website has required a fair amount of research and close examination of the archive's sources because we often come across dead links or missing photos. Furthermore, the new website has implemented a more comprehensive tagging system, which requires an in-depth look into each sighting to properly tag the post with its corresponding terms. The Dante Today project has established a community that emphasizes the impact and influence of Dante and his works across art, politics, and culture, serving as an archive for further research inspiration.

Keywords: literature, culture, website, modern languages