HIST 47H: Voices of the Italian Renaissance

Melissa Bullard

This seminar-style course will examine Renaissance texts (in translation) from Petrarch to Machiavelli and explore their historical and cultural contexts. Traditionally the period from the 14th century to the early 16th century in Italy has been seen as the foundation of modernity, of heroic individualism and consummate artistic expression, but our Renaissance voices also reveal thoughtful men and women struggling to redefine themselves in a changing world, a world increasingly dominated by patronage and patriarchy, by plague, war, and urban unrest, and by challenges to existing political, religious, and intellectual authorities and their systems of representation. In addition to a close reading and discussion of selected Renaissance texts, students will have opportunity to conduct independent research on related topics and present their findings. We will also devote a session to examining Renaissance paintings in the Ackland Museum and learn how to view them as texts that beckon us to reconstruct their appropriate contexts. Requirements include short critical evaluations of assigned readings, helping to lead class discussion, a research project and presentation.