Pandemic, Dread, and Boccaccio’s Decameron

In this episode, professor Robert Harrison reflects on the ways in which the present Coronavirus pandemic gives new resonance to Boccaccio’s Decameron, which was written in the immediate aftermath of the Black Death of 1348.  This monologue was recorded from Robert’s home. It will be followed in a day or two by the recording of a Zoom discussion of The Decameron that Robert held on April 5 with Stanford colleagues and graduate students. Listeners are encouraged to read the author's Preface and Introduction to the Decameron before listening to this show.  You can access the Gutenberg ebook version of The Decameron at no cost here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23700/23700-h/23700-h.htm#Proem