SAMPLE SYLLABUS
THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
3400: 424/524
Dr. Michael Levin
Office: Olin Hall 223A
Office phone: 972-7515
Email: mlevin@uakron.edu
DESCRIPTION:
This course
will cover the social, political, intellectual, and artistic developments in
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
to enhance our
knowledge of the Renaissance in
to develop skills
in reading and analyzing historical sources
to develop
skills in historical research and the presentation of research
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Denys Hay and
John Law,
Gene Brucker, Renaissance
Ernst Cassirer,
ed., The Renaissance Philosophy of Man
Baldassare
Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier
Niccolo
Machiavelli, The Prince
COURSE REQUIREMENTS (undergraduate):
Geography quiz,
Jan. 28 (5% of final grade)
One 10-minute
oral presentation (15% of final grade)
One 2-3 page
annotated bibliography (10% of final grade)
8-10 page
research paper (20% of final grade)
Midterm exam,
March 6 (15% of final grade)
Final exam, May
13 (25% of final grade)
Regular
attendance and class participation (10% of final grade)
Grading
scale: A: 93-100
A-: 90-92
B+: 87-89
B: 83-86
B-: 80-82
C+: 77-79
C: 73-77
C-: 70-72
D+: 67-69
D: 63-66
D-: 60-62
F: 0-59
Graduate
students will make an oral presentation, write a 5-6 page annotated
bibliography, and a 15-20 page research paper.
NOTES:
Late papers
will be penalized a grade per day of lateness.
Attendance is
REQUIRED: students who miss more than six classes will fail the course.
Students who
must miss a class are still responsible for the material covered in that class
(so get notes from someone!)
Make-up tests
must be taken within a week of a missed test.
There will be
no extra credit.
Students whose
names do not appear on the official class list by February 1 will not be
allowed to attend the class.
Students may
withdraw without penalty through the second week of class. After the midpoint of the semester, students
must obtain the signatures of both an adviser and the instructor in order to
withdraw.
Offenses
involving academic dishonesty will be taken very seriously. Students who cheat on tests or plagiarize
papers will, at a minimum, receive a failing grade for that assignment, and may
be flunked for the entire course.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Jan. 19:
Introduction
Jan. 21: The
Idea of “Renaissance” (xerox)
Jan. 24:
Medieval Thought and Culture
Jan. 26:
Jan. 28:
Geography quiz; Petrarch (xerox)
Jan. 31:
Petrarch (Cassirer, 23-46)
Feb. 2: The
Black Plague (xerox)
Feb.4:
Boccaccio (xerox)
Feb. 7:
Feb. 9:
Feb. 11:
Florentine Government and Politics (Brucker 128-171)
Feb. 14:
Florentine humanism (Brucker 213-240)
Feb. 16:
Leonardo Bruni (xerox)
Feb. 18: Leon
Battista Alberti (xerox)
Feb. 21: The
Rise of the Medici (Brucker 251-266)
Feb. 23: Neoplatonism
and Ficino (Cassirer 185-212)
Feb. 25: Pico
de la Mirandola (Cassirer 215-254)
Feb. 28: Early
Renaissance Art (see book on reserve,
Frederick Hartt, History of Italian
Renaissance Art)
March 1: Art in
March 3: Art in
March 6:
Midterm Exam
March 8: The
Revival in
March 10: High
Renaissance in
March 13:
March 15:
Renaissance Culture in
March 17: Art in
March 20-26
SPRING BREAK (Read Castiglione, Book of
the Courtier)
March 27:
Discussion: Courtier Book 1
March 29:
Discussion: Courtier Book 2
March 31:
Discussion: Courtier Books 3 and 4
April 3:
Warfare, Knights and Castles (Hay and Law, 84-93)
April 5: Women
in Renaissance Italy (xerox)
April 7: Jews
in Renaissance Italy (xerox)
April 10: The
French Invasion (Hay and Law, 149-168)
April 12:
Italian History and Francesco Guicciardini (xerox)
April 14: The
World of Machiavelli (Wooton Introduction, Letter to Vettori)
April 17: The Prince, Chaps. 1-10
April 19: The Prince, Chaps. 15-18
April 21: The Prince, Chaps. 24-26
April 24: The
Sack of Rome and Charles V (xerox)
April 26: The
Late Renaissance (xerox)
April 28: NO
CLASS
May 1: The
Northern Renaissance (xerox)
May 3: Review
DUE: Research Paper
Final
Exam: Thursday, May 13,