9 | Dr Thomas Graff - Dante and a 'Theology of Incarceration'

Welcome to the Divinity Divulged podcast! The first podcastseries from the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. In each episode we’ll be taking a look at one of the fascinating research projects happening within the Faculty through conversations with the researcher and an expert guest working in their field. With dialogue aimed at all of thosestudying or exploring religious studies across all levels, you can find details on how this episode relates to A Level and Scottish Highers Specifications as well as a glossary below. For this episode Dr Thomas Graff joins the podcast, Bye-Fellowand Director of Studies in Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion at St Edmund’s College in Cambridge. Offering us their expertise is Professor Robin Kirkpatrick, Professor Emeritus of Italian and English Literature at the University of Cambridge. Thomas talks us through his work studying Italian poet andwriter Dante, developing as he does a ‘theology of incarceration’ in and beyond him. We think about redemption, reconciliation, exile, power discourses and mass incarceration.  Glossary  Dante – Italian poet and writer of the 13thand 14th century, perhaps most famous for his Divine Comedy.  Ghibellines – Political and military factionsupporting the Holy Roman Emperor against the Pope in the Italian city states of central and northern Italy in the Middle Ages.  Guelfs - Political and military faction supportingthe Pope against the Holy Roman Emperor in the Italian city states of central and northern Italy in the Middle Ages. MLK – Martin Luther King Jr, American civil rightsactivist and Baptist minister.  Panopticon – Circular prison design conceived byUtilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham to offer theoretical constant observation of prisoners in order to create a feeling of constant observation and self-regulation of behaviour as a result.  Punitive justice/Retributive justice – A system ofjustice focused on punishment in order to deter future crime.  Purgatory – A stage of the afterlife where sinners areoffered the chance to recompense for sin in order to progress to heaven.  Restorative justice – A process that brings thoseresponsible for and those harmed by crime together in dialogue to attempt to find a shared path forward.   A Level Specifications – AQA Philosophy of Religion  Evil and suffering Ethics and Religion  The application of natural moral law, situation ethics andvirtue ethics to: capital punishmentBentham and Kant 2b Christianity Dialogue between Christianity and ethics  Pearson Edexcel Philosophy of Religion  3 Problems of evil and suffering 6 Influences of developments in religious belief 4B Christianity: 1 Religious Beliefs values and teachings OCR  2.c Philosophy of religion 3 The problem of evil 2.c Developments in religious thought Christian moral principles  Scottish Highers Specifications  SQA ChristianityBeliefs  Nature of human beings: free will; sin; stewards Judgement; Heaven and Hell  Practices  Christian action; the Christian community