The thesis’ focus and content: The thesis will be about a real and current intercultural issue in «multicultural Norway». The student chooses a specific topic, which must be approved by the subject teacher. See separate submission folder in Canvas. The assignment should address something that is often represented in a stereotypical, “Norwegian” way, is misunderstood or handled in a distorted and unfavorable way. Your task is then to convey insight on the topic in a way that the represented person recognizes himself in and that can open up for / challenge to nuance and reassessment of the case. The thesis may be questioning and critical of the topic being conveyed, but it should seek to create and maintain a constructive communication climate. The thesis is an exercise in applying professional matters with the aim of achieving good and constructive intercultural understanding and communication. The data collection of the thesis must be based on research of documentary sources combined with observation and conversation / interview in the field. The data collection must be original and linked specifically to this topic (ie not on material taken from memory, from previous fieldwork or similar). Academic matters: The media product must focus on conveying the topic to an imaginary, representative recipient in an understandable way. Professional concepts should not be used in the communication itself, but they should of course form the basis for how it is constructed / built up. Here are relevant professional semiotic matters to take into account in the structure of the media product:
-How is the “triangle model” used as a basis: what is the relational and power relationship between mediator / sender, addressee / recipient and the person / person represented? -How is symmetrical differentiation expressed? -How is the communication structured in relation to objectification? and subjectivation? -Which key symbols carry the communication? Explain why these are used with regard to metaphorization, connotations, etc.? What semiotic resources are used, and why? What does the intertextual presentation convey? The academic matter should be implied in the media product, but should be explained in the reflection note. More about that below.

Sample Solution

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

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