Dante Society

The Dante Society of America was founded in 1881 through the leadership of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, and Charles Eliot Norton, who in turn served as the society's first three presidents. One of the oldest scholarly societies in North America, the DSA predates both the Modern Language Association, founded in 1883, and the American Historical Association, founded in 1884. The society's mission, first formulated at its founding and now renewed and reinvigorated for the twenty-first century, is to encourage the study and appreciation of the time, life, works, and cultural legacy of Dante Alighieri.[1] After the Deutsche Dante-Gesellschaft (founded in 1865) it is the second-oldest scholarly organization devoted to the study of this medieval Italian poet.[2] The Dante Society of America is also one of the first scholarly societies in the United States to welcome women among its founding members. The current president is Alison Cornish of New York University. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Society_of_America DJackson 3/23/2021]