RUTGERS UNIVERSITY IN ITALY
FLORENCE PROGRAM
FALL SEMESTER 2010
Renaissance Italy: Its Origins, Nature, and
Contribution to Modern Europe
Prof. Fabrizio Ricciardelli, Ph. D.
[email protected]
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The Italian city-states were strikingly unusual features of the social landscape of medieval Europe,
distinguished by the sophistication of their economic activities, by the forms of government they adopted,
by the richness of their cultural life and by their singular social structure. From the thirteenth to the
fourteenth centuries most of these city-states ceased to be Republics and became subject to the rule of
one man, a Signore, and some of them retained their republican constitution. Both of them started to
dominate their territory and to absorb within their dominions large number of formerly independent
communes as well as rural territories. This phenomenon, which gave birth to Regional States, had
important and lasting consequences for the political and economic history of Italy. In fact, it
corresponded with the Renaissance, the flourishing period whiting which political and philosophical
speculation of humanist scholars went hand in hand with the masterpieces of artists. Studying political
thinkers as Niccolò Machiavelli, Donato Giannotti, and Francesco Guicciardini, analyzing their ideas on
republicanism in the light of the European political scene, this course will reach the modern world,
passing through the age of Baroque and Rococo, considering Italian history as one of the ‘crucial
ingredients’ of the creation of the European identity. The course will examine both the old and the new,
both the origin of the modern world and the world we have lost: it will analyze major intellectual, literary,
religious, and political developments which originated in the Italian peninsula (through reading primary
sources, visiting nearby monuments, and class discussion) to evaluate their contribution to the European
culture.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Class attendance
10%
Mid-term exam
25%
Final exam
35%
Research paper (oral presentation)
10%
Research paper (8 pages)
20%
A
B+
B
C+
93% - 100%
87% - 92%
82% - 86%
77% - 81%
GRADING SYSTEM:
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Intermediate Grade
1
C
D
F
70% - 76%
60% - 69%
0% - 59%
Satisfactory
Poor
Failing
REQUIRED HANDBOOK:
H. PIRENNE, ‘The Revival of Commerce’, in IDEM, Medieval Cities. Their Origins and the Revival of Trade
[1925] (Princeton, New Jersey, 1980), pp. 77-105..
D. WALEY, The Italian City-Republics (London–New York, 1996), pp. 32-68.
F. RICCIARDELLI, ‘Notes on causes and consequences of political exclusion in late medieval Italy’, Italian
History and Culture, 6 (2002), pp. 35-50.
J. VERGER, ‘The Universities’, in The New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. VI, ed. by M. JONES (Cambridge,
2000), pp. 66-81.
CH. KLAPISCH-ZUBER, ‘Plague and family life’, in The New Cambridge Medieval History, vol. VI, ed. by M.
JONES (Cambridge, 2000), pp. 124-154.
P. JOHNSOHN, The Renaissance (London, 2000), pp. 3-18 and 75-96.
S. BERTELLI, ‘The Courtly Universe’, in Courts in Renaissance Italy, ed. by S. BERTELLI (Florence, 1990), pp.
8-37.
M. FANTONI, ‘The Courts of the Medici, 1532-1737’, in The Princely Courts of Europe, 1550-1750, ed. by J.
ADAMS (London, 1999), pp. 134-152.
H. KUNG, ‘Reform, Reformation or Counter-Reformation?’, in IDEM, The Catholic Church, London, Phoenix
Press, 2002, pp. 118-148.
B. LEVACK, The Witch, in Baroque Personae, ed by R. VILLARI, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press,
1991, pp. 239-262.
SYLLABUS
FIRST WEEK:
Lesson I:
a. Course Introduction
b. Agricultural resources
Lesson II:
a. European population increases
b. The re-birth of cities
Reading:
H. PIRENNE, ‘The Revival of Commerce’, in IDEM, Medieval Cities. Their Origins and the
Revival of Trade [1925] (Princeton, New Jersey, 1980), pp. 77-105.
SECOND WEEK:
Lesson III:
a. Italian city-States
b. The consular Commune
Lesson IV:
a. Internal divisions: Guelfs and Ghibellines
b. The Commune of the Podestà
Reading:
D. WALEY, The Italian City-Republics (London–New York, 1996), pp. 32-68.
THIRD WEEK:
Lesson V:
a. Nobles and Magnates
b. The coming of the Popolo
Lesson VI:
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a. Italy and Europe in the time of Dante
b. Political exclusion: a paradoxical regulating element?
Reading:
F. RICCIARDELLI, ‘Notes on causes and consequences of political exclusion in late medieval
Italy’, Italian History and Culture, 6 (2002), pp. 35-50.
FORTH WEEK:
Lesson VII:
a. Guilds and corporatism
b. The world of work
Lesson VIII:
a. The re-birth of culture
b. The Universities
Reading:
J. VERGER, ‘The Universities’, in The New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. VI, ed. by M.
JONES (Cambridge, 2000), pp. 66-81.
FIFTH WEEK:
Lesson IX:
a. Reduced population: famines
b. The Black Death of 1348
Lesson X:
a. Italy and the creation of territorial states
b. Regional dynamics
Reading:
CH. KLAPISCH-ZUBER, ‘Plague and family life’, in The New Cambridge Medieval History, vol. VI,
ed. by M. JONES (Cambridge, 2000), pp. 124-154.
SIXTH WEEK:
Lesson XI:
REVIEW SESSION
Lesson XII :
MIDTERM EXAM
SEVENTH WEEK:
Lesson XIII:
a. Means of the word ‘Renaissance’
b. Renaissance for whom?
Lesson XIV:
a. The Medici in Florence and civic humanism
b. Machiavelli and The Prince
Readings:
P. JOHNSOHN, The Renaissance (London, 2000), pp. 3-18 and 75-96.
EIGHTH WEEK:
Lesson XV:
a. Main Courts in Italy
b. Courtly life
Lesson XVI:
a. Baldesar Castiglione
b. The Book of the Courtier
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Reading:
S. BERTELLI, ‘The Courtly Universe’, in Courts in Renaissance Italy, ed. by S. BERTELLI
(Florence, 1990), pp. 8-37.
NINTH WEEK:
Lesson XVII:
a. Martin Luther: a scholar and his lectures
b. The Protestant Reformation
Lesson XVIII:
c. The Counter Reformation
d. The Council of Trent: Inquisition and Witchcraft
Reading:
M. FANTONI, ‘The Courts of the Medici, 1532-1737’, in The Princely Courts of Europe, 1550-1750,
ed. by J. ADAMS (London, 1999), pp. 134-152.
TENTH WEEK:
Lesson XIX:
a. Class presentations
b. Class presentations
Reading:
H. KUNG, ‘Reform, Reformation or Counter-Reformation?’, in IDEM, The Catholic Church,
London, Phoenix Press, 2002, pp. 118-148.
Lesson XX:
a. Class presentations
b. Class presentations
Reading:
B. LEVACK, The Witch, in Baroque Personae, ed by R. VILLARI, Chicago, The University of
Chicago Press, 1991, pp. 239-262.
ELEVENTH WEEK:
Lesson XXI:
REVIEW SESSION
Lesson XXII:
FINAL EXAM AND RESEARCH PAPER DUE
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RUTGERS IN ITALY ACADEMIC REGULATIONS
Attendance: Students are expected to attend classes regularly and arrive on time.
After the 2nd absence, students will lose points off the final grade - 3% for each absence
after the 2nd.
-Make-up of in-class work (including exams) will not be permitted in the case of
absence. In the case of an excused absence, students will be allowed to write a paper
(6-8 pages) to make up for an exam. The paper must be turned in within 1 week of the
exam date.
Tardiness: Students are expected to arrive punctually to class. Arriving to class late 3
times will result in an unexcused absence.
-All academic work must be completed on time. No work will be accepted late or after
the program ends.
-There is to be NO EATING during class. It is considered disrespectful and highly
offensive to Italian professors.
-Cell phones MUST BE SWITCHED OFF during class. Even a vibrating cell phone
is distracting. Several interruptions will result in disciplinary action.
-Laptop computers MAY NOT be used during class to take notes.
-Dress appropriately: the art history classes will be making visits to local churches and
museums, therefore students must dress accordingly (no uncovered shoulders or thighs)
as to avoid being turned away from entering churches.
-The art history class excursions are not tourist visits, they are classes. Therefore,
students are expected to give their full attention to the instructor at all times during the
visit. Interruptions for photos or buying souvenirs will not be permitted, so leave your
cameras at home. Students will have ample opportunity to visit the churches,
museums, and monuments as tourists on their own time.
Books: All Rutgers in Italy courses require reading material, in most cases a course
reader. Some courses require the student to purchase books. The students are
responsible for paying for the textbooks and/or the course reader for each course
(except for the Italian language courses at Linguaviva). Please pay for your course
readers promptly. Grades will be withheld until any outstanding balances with Rutgers
in Italy are paid.
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