WSU STUDY ABROAD: THE EVOLUTION OF THE RENAISSANCE FLORENCE, PROVENCE, AND SHAKESPEARES ENGLAND HISTORY 4720, PHILOSOPHY

2920 Summer Semester 2014 Apr 24 May 31, 2014 Dr Katie Nelson; katienelson2@weber.edu Marc D Nelson; marcnelson@weber.edu

Course Description: The Evolution of the Renaissance is an interdisciplinary course which integrates the philosophy, art, and history of the European Renaissance. The possible origins and trajectory of the Renaissance is emphasized as students follow its geographical course from Florentine origins to the Shakespearean Golden Age. Critical thinking about key debates will form the foundation of the course. The complexities of cultural change and the emerging schism between science and religion will be explored. Students will also come away with an understanding of how modern Western culture has deep ties to the European Renaissance. Course Objectives: It is the aim of this course to help the student better understand and critically evaluate the philosophies and history of the Renaissance as it spread through Europe. It is designed to offer experiential learning in an intensive time frame. This course will foster thinking and analytical skills, as emphasis is on critical analysis of major debates and key ideas/figures of the Renaissance. Required Texts: Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve, How the World Became Modern (Norton and Co., 2011). Jocelyn Hunt, The Renaissance, Questions and Analysis in History (Routledge, 1999). Francesco Petrarch, excerpts from Petrarchs Letters to Classical Authors.* Michel Montaigne, excerpts from Complete Essays, trans. Donald Frame (Stanford Univ,1998). William Shakespeare, Henry IV Part I, any edition with footnotes. Francis Bacon, Novum Organum.* *available on the course blog Assignments: No late assignments will be accepted; you are always welcome to turn assignments in early. Your grade will be determined by the following:
Assignment
Points

Academic Journal Full attendance and participation One 9-10 page paper on a debate in Renaissance studies TOTAL

200 200 200 600

Academic Journal: Keep an academic journal in the format of your choice. Ideally, this would be a hard-bound, blank paper journal suitable for travel. This journal will contain a record of all your thoughts throughout this course, from pre-departure to the return home again. Write your reading notes, responses to assigned analysis questions (see below), travel experiences and any ideas that come to you along the way. You may also wish to paste maps, pictures, or other artifacts of your travel into the book as well. Be creative! This will become a record not just of your travel experience but also your enlightenment. 1

You will be given a list of required response/analysis questions for each assigned text; these must be answered thoroughly in your academic journal (see course schedule). Aim for the equivalent of 2-4 handwritten pages of thoughts/content per question. Most readings will be completed before departure, but Hunts The Renaissance, Questions and Analysis in History will be assigned throughout the trip. (So that is the one book youll need to carry with you.) The completed journal is due on or before July 8. Ten-page paper on a debate in Renaissance studies: This course will highlight a number of debates/critical issues relating to the Renaissance. Underlying all these is the Renaissance phenomenon of the beginning of the rift between science and religion. In a 9-10 page critical paper, explore the possible historical causes for such a dramatic shift. What events, what artists, what ideas, what places, do you believe to have been the most crucial forces behind the cultural swerve? What were their particular contributions? How might todays Western culture be different (if at all), if history were slightly altered? A successful paper will integrate the course readings on the topic with travel experiences and conclude with your own analysis of the issue. An excellent paper will also integrate additional research on the ideas/people/places of your choosing. Citations and bibliography required. Grading rubric discussed in class. Use of WSUs Writing Center is highly recommended. The paper is due on or before July 8. Attendance and Participation: Students are expected to attend every two-hour pre-departure class (listed below) as well as every group tour/discussion while abroad. Full participation is crucial to this intensive experiential learning course. Ten points will be earned for attendance at each lecture, tour or discussion and cannot be made up. Grading Scale:
94-100% 90-93% 87-89% 84-86% 80-83% 77-79% A AB+ B BC+ 74-76% 70-73% 67-69% 64-66% 60-63 C CD+ D D-

CLASS SCHEDULE: Date & Topic: 24 APR (THU) Introductory Meeting Itinerary of Activities, Readings & Assignments: We will discuss course assignments, travel preparation including how to prepare physically and what to pack, how to plan your budget for the trip, methods for transferring your funds to foreign currency, and more. We'll also answer any questions you have, and have you fill out emergency contact forms and waivers. Have read The Swerve in full and answered three response questions. Response question for chapters 1-4: Greenblatt believes a poem changed the world. Do you agree that words can have this kind of power? Have any texts initiated swerves in your own life? In modern society? Response question for chapters 5-8: What parallels and differences do you notice between the Medieval world, that suppressed Lucretius poem, and world in which we live today? Response question for chapters 9-11: Today, the term Epicureanism still 2

6 MAY (TUE) Intro to the Renaissance

evokes notions of rash, indulgent pleasure-seeking. Did Greenblatt change how you think about pleasure? 8 MAY (THURS) Florence and Humanism Have read Petrarchs Letters to Cicero, available online (see blog) Response question for Petrarch: Why would Petrarch be writing letters to dead people? Do you agree with Petrarchs criticisms of Cicero? and Montaigne selected essays from Book 1: 50, Of Democritus and Heraclitus 56, Of Prayers Response question for Book 1: Write a letter to Montaigne, in response to the provocative ideas he presents. Have read Montaigne selected essays from Book 2: 12, Apology for RaymondMan has no knowledge, p. 370-374 26, Of thumbs Response questions for Book 2: Do you think that Montaigne is right in thinking that it is wise to suspend belief and live in doubt? What effect might such a policy have on the way we live our lives? and Francis Bacon, Novum Organum, aphorisms XXXIX-LXVIII, available online (see blog). Response question: Describe the Four Idols Bacon identifies. Draw up some modern examples of each of the Idols (perhaps from your own life!).

13 MAY (TUE) A New Philosophy

15 MAY (THURS) Have read Shakespeare Henry IV Part I, plus two response questions Elizabethan Golden Age Response questions TBA Legacy of the Renaissance 19 MAY (TUE) 20 MAY Renaissance Beginnings Flight from SLC to Bologna Reading: Hunt Ch. 1 Noon: Arrive in Italy, shuttle to Florence Walking tour of historic Florence. Group tour of the Duomo, Baptistery Evening: free. Sleep in Florence Response in Academic Journal: Hunt Ch. 1 (2 questions) Late Morning: Group tour of San Marco Monastery Afternoon: Group tour of Medici Palace and discussion Evening: Free. Sleep in Florence Reading: Hunt Ch. 2 Morning: Uffizi gallery, lecture and discussion Afternoon and Evening: Free. Sleep in Florence Response in Academic Journal: Hunt Ch.2 (2 questions) Morning (9am): Drive from Florence to Nmes, France. Stop in Provence for lunch and the Pont du Gard in evening. Lecture and discussion on bus. Sleep in Nmes. Morning: Walking tour of ancient Roman Nmes including Arena and Temple Afternoon: Free. Sleep in Nmes. Reading: Hunt Ch. 4 Morning: Train to Avignon. Popes Palace and St Benezet Bridge Afternoon: Free. Evening: Train back to Nmes. Sleep in Nmes. 3

21 MAY The Medici vs Savonarola

22 MAY Art and Philosophy 23 MAY Travel 24 MAY Classical Rome Reborn

25 MAY Petrarch and the Pope

Response in Academic Journal: Hunt Ch. 4 (2 questions) 26 MAY Private Studies Free Day: see more of Nmes; train to Arles; bus to Petrarchs homestead or nearby villages; tour Camargue Wetlands, etc Sleep in Nmes. Reading: Hunt Ch. 7

27 MAY Morning: 7:30 a.m. shuttle to Nmes airport. The Northern Renaissance 9:35 a.m. flight from Nmes to UK; transfer to Warwick. Afternoon: Walking tour of Warwick, incl. Lord Leicesters Hospital and St. Marys Church. Sleep in Warwick. Response in Academic Journal: Hunt Ch.7 (2 questions) 28 MAY The Golden Age Morning: Bus to Stratford-Upon-Avon. Walking tour incl. gravesite Choose from Shakespeare sites in Stratford: Birthplace, Mary Ardens Farm, Anne Hathaways Cottage, New Place 7:15 pm: Royal Shakespeare Company performance Henry IV Part I Taxis back to Warwick. Sleep in Warwick. Response in academic journal: Henry IV Part I performance Free Day: see more Stratford; Warwick Castle; London; Kenilworth; Coventry; Charlecote Park; Birmingham, etc. Sleep in Warwick. Reading: Hunt Ch. 8 Morning: walking tour of Kenilworth. Bernard Capp & Peter Marshall seminar at Kenilworth Castle. Optional tea follows. Evening: free. Sleep in Warwick. Response in academic journal: Capp/Marshall seminar 8:00 a.m. Private Coach to London Heathrow; fly to SLC Response in Academic Journal: Hunt Ch. 8 (2 questions) Academic journal and final paper due in Marcs Office

29 MAY Private Studies 30 MAY The Renaissance Legacy

31 MAY Home Again 8 JULY

Please Note: Any form of cheating or plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students engaging in unethical behavior will be prosecuted to the full extent of the statues of the university. Any student requiring accommodations or services due to a disability must contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in Room 181of the Student Services Center, or by phoning 801-626-6413. SSD can also arrange to provide materials in alternative formats if necessary.