Spring 2016: History 325—The Renaissance
Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30-10:45 Holton G90
Prof. Merry Wiesner-Hanks
Office: Holton 316 Office hours Tuesday/Thursday 11-12:30 and by appointment
e-mail: merrywh@uwm.edu
This course will examine the society, politics, culture, and economics of Europe during
the Renaissance. It will be conducted primarily in discussion format, and a share of your
grade will be participation in class discussion. In order to participate you must obviously
be in class; for that reason, I will take attendance every day, and your course grade will
be affected by a significant number of absences. (Meaning more than four.) In order to
participate effectively, you will need to do the readings, and to bring your books and
other materials to class, as we will be referring to them regularly. I have included a few
discussion questions in the syllabus for each week’s topic that can help guide your
reading. In addition, every day before class (except for days on which there are no
readings), you will need to post at least one question based on the readings in the drop
box of the D2L site.
A central part of this course will be reading, analyzing, and discussing original materials
from the Renaissance. Most of these are found in The Portable Renaissance Reader, one
of the required books for the course. Some of these will be posted on the D2L site, and
some are web-based materials, to which this syllabus provides links. Please print out or
have on your laptop all D2L or web-based materials and bring the copies to class with
you. You must have the original sources in front of you to be effective in discussion. We
will also be using a textbook, Margaret King’s The Renaissance in Europe, primarily to
provide context and background for the original sources.
As you learn the content of this course, you will also be developing historical thinking
skills. Historical thinking requires understanding and evaluating change and continuity
over time and making appropriate use of relevant historical evidence to answer questions
and develop arguments about the past. It involves going beyond simply asking “what
happened when” to evaluating why and how events occurred and processes unfolded. It
involves finding and assessing historical sources of many different types to understand
the contexts of given historical eras and the perspectives of different individuals and
groups. Historical thinking is a process of chronological reasoning, which means
wrestling with issues of causality, connection, and context with the goal of developing
credible explanations of historical events and processes based on reasoned interpretation
of evidence. The class discussion will provide you with opportunities to sharpen your
historical thinking skills, and the papers will give you an opportunity to demonstrate
these in a sophisticated and in-depth way.
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Required Books:
Margaret King, The Renaissance in Europe. It is available in two versions, the British
version published by Laurence King (ISBN-10: 1856693740) and the US version
published by McGraw-Hill (ISBN-10: 0072836261). The only difference between the
two is the cover picture. Buy this new or used through UWM’s or any other on-line
vendor, in either version.
Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, with Related Documents. Bedford/St. Martin’s. ISBN10: 0312149786. Buy this new or used through UWM’s or any other on-line vendor.
James Bruce Ross and Mary Martin McLaughlin, The Portable Renaissance Reader.
ISBN-10: 0140150617. Buy this new or used through UWM’s or any other on-line
vendor.
Course Requirements and Grading
1. Questions Based on Course Readings. 15% of course grade: Beginning with Week 2,
by midnight of the day before every class that there are readings, you are responsible
to post in the Dropbox of D2L at least one question based on the readings for that
day. Put your question(s) in the Comments section, and also upload them (or
upload something) as a document, because D2L will not allow comments alone to be
submitted through the Drop Box. These questions will be graded simply as submitted
or missing; if you turn in questions on at least 22 days, you will receive an A on this
segment of the course, 19 will result in a B, 16 a C, and 13 a D.
These may be questions about things that you don’t understand or find confusing, things
you want to know more about, things that bother you in the readings, etc. Ideally these
are to be questions that open up discussion, rather than closing it down, so they should
not be answerable with “yes” or “no.” In general, analytical questions that begin with
“why” or “how” are more interesting than those that begin with “who”, “what”, or
“when.” I will use these questions to shape class discussion.
2. Class Participation and Attendance. 15% of Course Grade: It is expected that
everyone will contribute to class discussions. If speaking in public is difficult for you,
let me know immediately and we will make arrangements for you to talk with me
about the readings privately outside of class.
3. First Written Assignment. 15% of Course Grade:The written assignment listed in
Week 5 on the syllabus. This will be due Friday, March 4, in the Drop Box of the course
D2L site.
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4. First Comparative Paper. 15% of Course Grade: A 5-page paper (for grad students: a
10 page paper), which analyzes and compares the original sources for Weeks 2, 4, 6 OR
7. This will be due Friday March 25, in the Drop Box of the course D2L site.
See Instructions for Comparative Papers for more information and grading criteria.
5. Second Written Assignment. 20% of Course Grade: The written assignment listed in
Week 11 of the syllabus. This will be due Friday, April 29, in the Drop Box of the
course D2L site.
6. Second Comparative Paper. 20% of Course Grade: A 5-page paper (for grad students:
a 10 page paper), which analyzes and compares the original sources for Weeks 8, 9, 10,
13 OR 14. This will be due Friday, May 13, in the Drop Box of the course D2L site. See
Instructions for Comparative Papers for more information and grading criteria.
There are no exams in this course.
Technology:
Cellphones and I-Pods need to be turned off and put away.
Laptops are fine for displaying sources for discussion and for note-taking. They are not
for web-searching or Facebook updates during class. This is a zero-tolerance policy; offtask computer use will result in my prohibiting you from using a laptop in class, and you
will be required to use Renaissance technology from that point on, in other words a hand
holding a writing implement.
Policies:
UWM policies regarding students with disabilities, religious observances, students called
to active military duty, incompletes, discriminatory conduct (such as sexual harassment),
academic misconduct, complaint procedures, and grade appeals can be found at:
www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf
Topics, Readings, and Assignments:
Week 1: Introduction
Tuesday, January 26 Course Introduction
Thursday January 28 The Renaissance as a Concept
King, “Introduction” pp. viii-xv
Reader, pp. 79-80 (Ficino), 116-119 (Cervantes)
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Discussion questions: How have modern historians differed in their views of the
Renaissance? How do Ficino and Cervantes’ character Don Quixote differ in their
views of their own times?
Week 2: The Political and Economic Background of the Renaissance
Tuesday, February 2 Church and State
King, Ch. 1, pp. 1-18
Packet 1 on D2L: Boniface VIII, Adam of Usk, Frederick Barbarossa
Thursday, February 4 The Commercial and Communal Revolutions
King, Ch. 1, pp. 18-30
Packet 2 on D2L: Advice to a Norwegian Merchant, Pope Pius II on Siena
Discussion questions: How do Pope Boniface and Frederick Barbarossa differ in
their views of proper political authority? How are they similar? What new
opportunities were offered by the growth of trade and the expansion of political
authority, and what problems did these create?
Week 3: Urban Life
Tuesday February 9 City Government and Culture
King: Ch. 2, pp. 33-53, 57-58
Reader: pp. 165-168 (Benedetto Dei), 168-175 (Arnold von Harff), 208213 (Pius II), 241-244 (Pietro Aretino)
Thursday February 11 The Black Death
King, Ch. 2, pp. 58-62
Web-based reading: Boccaccio on the Black Death, at
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/decameronintro.html
Discussion questions: What did writers see to praise or blame in their own
cities, and in other cities? What were their reactions to economic change?
Why did the Black Death have such a strong impact on urban life?
Week 4: The Medici Family
Tuesday February 16 View first part of “The Medici: Godfathers of the
Renaissance”
Readings: King, pp. 210-213
Thursday February 18 View second part of “The Medici: Godfathers of the
Renaissance”
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Questions to think about while watching the film: How did money create
power for the Medici family? How were politics, wealth, and art
interwoven in Renaissance Florence? How did the patronage of artists and
scholars, and of ordinary people, contribute to Medici power? How did the
film’s presentation of the Medici family and urban life differ from that
presented in the original sources and the textbook?
Week 5: Humanism
Tuesday February 23 Classical Traditions, Philosophy, and Education
King, Ch. 2, pp. 54-56, Ch. 3, pp. 65-85
Reader: pp. 120-123 (Petrarch), 123-127 (Boccaccio), 127-131 (Bruni),
131-135 (Valla), 379-384 (Bracciolini), 387-392 (Ficino), 476-479 (Pico)
Thursday February 25 The Social Context of Humanism
King, Ch. 3, pp. 85-98
Reader: 396-401 (Aldus Manutius), 480-492 (Alberti)
Packet 3 on D2L: Cassandra Fedele on humanist learning
Discussion questions: To what do humanist writers attribute the expansion
of learning and literature in their own day? What do they see as the
purpose of education? How would they characterize human nature? The
ideal man or woman? What are the essential elements of humanist writing
style?
First written assignment: You have now read praises written by humanists of many
things in Renaissance culture: cities, houses, individuals, education. Using these as a
model, write a praise of something in contemporary culture (a city, a place, a person, an
object, etc.) in the style of a Renaissance humanist. If you would like to write this in
verse, you certainly can. (At least 5 pages in prose, fewer if it’s poetry.)
Week 6: Art and Architecture
Tuesday March 1 Patronage, Painting and Architecture
King, Ch. 4, pp. 101-120
Reader, pp. 527-531 (Alberti), 548-552 (Van Mander)
Thursday March 3 Portraits and “Genius”
King, Ch. 4, pp. 120-134
Reader: pp. 531-540 (Leonardo), 540-548 (Cellini), 440-441
(Michelangelo), 501-512 (Condivi)
Web-based reading: Giorgio Vasari on Leonardo, at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/vasari1.html
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Discussion questions: What, in the opinions of the artists in the Reader
and of Vasari, are the most important qualities in art? How are the life and
works of an artist related? How is an artist different from other
individuals? Why is art important?
Friday March 4 First written assignment due in D2L Dropbox
Week 7: Public and Private Life
Tuesday March 8 Social Classes, Groups and Associations
King, Ch, 5, pp. 137-151
Reader: pp. 218-224 (Venetian diplomat), 227-233 (Albrecht Dürer)
Packet 4 on D2L: selection of documents on professional networks
Thursday March 10 Families and Marriage
King, Ch. 5, pp. 152-164
Reader: pp. 328-331 (Alberti)
Web-based reading: Christine de Pizan on wives of artisans, at:
http://web.archive.org/web/20001030182510/www.millersv.edu/~english/
homepage/duncan/medfem/pizan3.html
Christine de Pizan on wives of nobles on their estates, at:
http://web.archive.org/web/20001213175200/www.millersv.edu/~english/
homepage/duncan/medfem/pizan4.html
Discussion questions: What types of communities and networks were
important for Renaissance people? How did these groups shape life in
cities and neighborhoods? How were people’s private lives and family
duties shaped by their class and their gender?
NO CLASS MARCH 13-20: Spring Break
Week 8: Religious Beliefs and Practices
Tuesday March 22 The Institutional Church: Popes, Bishops, and Preachers
King Ch 6, pp. 167-174, 187-192
Reader, pp. 630-644 (Pope Pius II), 644-652 (Savanarola)
Thursday March 24 Popular Religion: Monks and Saints
King Ch. 6, pp. 174-186
Reader: pp. 712-716 (Thomas a Kempis)
Packet 5 on D2L: Letters of Catherine of Siena
Discussion questions: What opportunities did the Renaissance church
provide for power and sanctity? How were these different for men and
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women? What were the main problems of the Renaissance church, and
how did these relate to Renaissance society?
Friday March 25, First Comparative Paper Due in D2L Dropbox
Week 9: The Spread of Humanism
Tuesday March 29 Northern and Christian Humanism
King, Ch. 9
Reader, pp. 80-84 (Erasmus), 84-86 (Lefèvre), 347-354 (Vives), 401-408
(Erasmus), 717-721 (Erasmus)
Discussion questions: What impact did printed books have on education
and culture? How do Christian humanists such as Erasmus interpret the
changes of the Renaissance? How does what they see as important differ
from the attitudes of earlier Italian humanists such as Petrarch?
Thursday March 31
NO F2F CLASS: Begin readings for weeks 10 and 11
Week 10: Politics in the Later Renaissance
Tuesday April 5 Rulers and despots
King, Ch. 7
Reader, 263-267 (Machiavelli), 267-284 (Guiccardini)
NO F2F CLASS: Discussion conducted online
Thursday April 7 The Renaissance Court
King, Ch. 8, pp. 234-242; Ch. 10, pp. 287-293
Reader, 284-294 (Bacon)
NO F2F CLASS: Discussion conducted online
Discussion questions: What were the primary political problems facing the
Italian states? How did rulers and ruling groups overcome these? In the
eyes of Renaissance authors, what makes a successful ruler? What makes
a perfect courtier?
Week 11: Machiavelli’s The Prince
Tuesday April 12 Discussion of The Prince
Machiavelli, The Prince: Connell’s introduction (pp. 1-34); the text itself
(pp. 39-123), and Michelangelo’s letter to Vettori (pp. 134-140)
King, Ch. 8, pp. 226-234
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Thursday April 14 Machiavelli’s supporters and critics
Machiavelli, The Prince, pp. 142-189
Discussion questions: How do we understand The Prince? How have
interpretations changed over the centuries? Why?
Second Assignment: In the five hundred years since he wrote The Prince, Machiavelli
has been denounced as a cold-hearted supporter of tyranny, praised as a supporter of
those who stood up against tyrants, and admired as someone who viewed politics and
power realistically. In a 5-8 page paper, address the following questions: What evidence
do you see in The Prince for each of these three points of view? What is your own view
of Machiavelli, and what evidence in The Prince supports your intepretation? Which of
the other authors in the “related documents” section agrees with your interpretation, and
what evidence do they use to support their point of view?
Week 12: The Renaissance Beyond Italy
Tuesday April 19 Spain, Portugal, the Low Countries and France
King, Ch. 10, pp. 293-311
Reader: 294-305 (Cavalli), 305-327 (Suriano)
Thursday April 21 Britain, Germany, and Eastern Europe
King, Ch. 10, pp. 312-318
Reader: pp. 135-140 (von Watt)
Discussion questions: What was distinctive about the political and social
structures of Spain, the Low Countries, France, England and Germany?
What special problems do they face? How did Renaissance culture in each
of these areas differ from that in Italy?
Week 13: Culture and Society in the Later Renaissance
Tuesday April 26 Art, Theatre, and Music
King, Ch. 8, pp. 242-252
Reader: pp. 424-429 (Castiglione), 460-465 (Castiglione)
Thursday April 28 Gender Roles
King, Ch, 8, pp. 252-254, Ch. 11, pp. 341-350
Packet 6 on D2L: Lucrezia Marinella, “The Nobility and Excellence of
Women”
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Discussion questions: What were the main innovations in Renaissance
theatre and music? How were an individual’s opportunities in the arts and
education shaped by his or her gender? By social class?
Friday April 29 Second Assignment Due in D2L Dropbox
Week 14: Science and Exploration
Tuesday May 3 Astronomy and Anatomy
King, Ch. 8, pp. 252-254, Ch. 11, pp. 330-341
Reader: pp. 558-563 (Paré), 563-572 (Vesalius), 589-593 (Copernicus),
593-597 (Brahe)
Thursday May 5 The Global Renaissance
King, Ch. 11, pp. 321-330
Reader: pp. 146-1 (D’Anghiera), 152-155 (Monardes), 156-7 (de León),
157-161 (Montaigne)
Discussion questions: Why were both medical and astronomical
discoveries regarded as dangerous? How did the scientists and physicians
themselves regard them? What was the European reaction to the lands and
peoples they encountered in voyages beyond Europe?
Week 14: Course wrap up
Tuesday May 10 Course wrap-up
Friday, May 13, Second Comparative Paper Due in D2L Dropbox
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Instructions for Comparative Paper
Historical analysis always involves comparison. In preschool or kindergarten you
probably compared the lives of early American settlers with your own. By middle school
you may have compared leaders, forms of government, and building styles from different
cultures. By high school, tests in history include questions beginning with: “Compare and
contrast…,” which by college may have become slightly more sophisticated: “Analyze
the similarities and differences between…” You may have written research papers or
essays that were explicitly comparative--contrasting differing events, ideas, values,
personalities, behaviors, or institutions--or used comparison implicitly to evaluate the
significance of a person or event or to assess change and continuity over time.
In this assignment, you are to explicitly compare FOUR OR MORE original
sources FROM ANY ONE WEEK that relate to the topic of that week. You may include
sources in The Portable Renaissance Reader, class handouts, web-based material, or
those in the “Voices” feature of King’s textbook. Your paper will need to: explain how
the sources provide information and insight about the topic for the week; identify key
features of comparison; determine and explain the significance of comparative features
through reflection and analysis, noting similarities as well as differences; include
appropriate additional background material about the source and/or the author drawn
from the textbook and class discussion to provide context for the comparisons; identify
and analyze connections among lines of comparison; draw conclusions about possible
causes for the similarities and differences noted. You should make sure that you set out
and analyze your lines of comparison explicitly and do not just juxtapose the sources, that
is, you do not just talk about one source after the other and leave the comparison up to the
reader.
Grading Standards for the Papers:
The “A” Range: Your work is superior, well above an average level of competence for an
upper-division history class. This means:
1. You show a high level of intellectual engagement with the issues, and have clearly
thought about the materials to a level that allows you to draw your own conclusions
and make your own points.
2. You set out important similiarities and differences among all of the sources that you
have chosen to discuss, and successfully analyze the reasons for these.
3. You make effective use of the information in the original sources, textbook and class
discussion to provide examples and points of emphasis.
4. Your essay is coherent and well-organized. It is governed by a clearly formulated
structure that the reader can follow throughout.
5. Your writing is compelling, active, clear, and direct.
6. The mechanics of your writing, i.e., your sentence structure, word choice,
punctuation, etc., are both accurate and effective.
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The “B” Range: Your work is good, above average, which means:
1. Your essay shows you have thought about the issues. Generally speaking, you draw
your own conclusions and make you own points rather than simply summarizing the
sources.
2. Your have discussed all of the sources adequately and made valid comparisons.
3. Your essay brings in some reference to complexities in the issues involved and
includes references to some readings and the class discussion.
4. Your use of materials is largely accurate and the paper is quite well organized.
5. You have made an effort to achieve clarity and fluidity in expression and develop
your ideas adequately.
6. The mechanics of your writing are largely correct, and you have made an effort to use
them to good effect.
The “C” Range: Your work suggests competence, but problems as well, which means:
1. You may not have thought sufficiently about the issue or read the materials carefully.
Your essay may simply repeat information given in the sources and make little or no
attempt to analyze these.
2. You may have only discussed some of the sources, or you may not have developed
explicit comparisons between them.
3. Your argument is not expressed clearly and is difficult to follow. Logical connections
between the paragraphs may be weak or absent so that the essay does not hang
together and it may be difficult for the reader to understand your points.
4. Your use of the sources is faulty or incomplete.
5. Your style is not clear.
6. Your grasp of the mechanics of writing may not be strong enough to allow you to say
what you mean.
The “D” Range: Your work has serious problems in all areas.
All of the above assumes, of course, that the work you turn in is yours. Papers that turn
out to be the work of others in any way are graded in the “F” range.
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