An interdisciplinary introduction to the Renaissance in Italy illustrated by a study of the institutions, thought, politics, art, and culture that emerged in the period. Considering key sites of power and creativity like Florence, Venice, Milan, and Rome, this course will examine the dynamic new ways Renaissance Italians understood themselves, others, and the world. Taking into account the full spectrum of Renaissance culture, including constructions of gender and other emerging forms of identity, this course will address broad historical developments and explore the creative works and impact of artists like Michelangelo and Sofonisba Anguissola; architects like Brunelleschi; cultural patrons like the Medici family and Isabella d’Este; and writers like Laura Cereta and Niccolò Machiavelli. This class will examine how the cultural forms of the Renaissance – art, architecture, philosophy, politics, music, drama, and literature – developed through engagement with ancient Roman and Greek models and expanded across Europe (in such places as the Iberian Peninsula, France, England, Scotland, Germany, the Low Countries, and Poland). It will also explore how Renaissance culture shaped and was shaped by interactions between Europeans and peoples in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Taking into account the contexts of religious conflict, technological change, colonization, gender dynamics, and cross-cultural exchanges brought about by warfare and global networks of trade, this class will use a variety of disciplinary frameworks to examine the Renaissance as an expansive cultural phenomenon.
An interdisciplinary introduction to the Renaissance in Italy illustrated by a study of the institutions, thought, politics, art, and culture that emerged in the period. Considering key sites of power and creativity like Florence, Venice, Milan, and Rome, this course will examine the dynamic new ways Renaissance Italians understood themselves, others, and the world. Taking into account the full spectrum of Renaissance culture, including constructions of gender and other emerging forms of identity, this course will address broad historical developments and explore the creative works and impact of artists like Michelangelo and Sofonisba Anguissola; architects like Brunelleschi; cultural patrons like the Medici family and Isabella d’Este; and writers like Laura Cereta and Niccolò Machiavelli. This class will examine how the cultural forms of the Renaissance – art, architecture, philosophy, politics, music, drama, and literature – developed through engagement with ancient Roman and Greek models and expanded across Europe (in such places as the Iberian Peninsula, France, England, Scotland, Germany, the Low Countries, and Poland). It will also explore how Renaissance culture shaped and was shaped by interactions between Europeans and peoples in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Taking into account the contexts of religious conflict, technological change, colonization, gender dynamics, and cross-cultural exchanges brought about by warfare and global networks of trade, this class will use a variety of disciplinary frameworks to examine the Renaissance as an expansive cultural phenomenon.
