History of the Renaissance
Brother Charles
History 113
Reading Syllabus
28 August Tu
Introduction [Lesson on the history of Renaissance studies. Major
document: medieval French tale of Amis and Amile.] LO13
30 August Th
A. Daniel Frankforter and William
M. Spellman, The West: A Narrative History, 3rd ed., pp. pp. 338356 [Lesson on the chronological and geographical boundaries
of Renaissance history. Major document: Francesco Petrarch, The Ascent of Mt.
Ventoux.] LO13
04 September Tu
Peter Burke, The Renaissance [Lesson and discussion of the
meaning of humanism. Major artifact: Pierre Bouvelles, "Steps of Humanity."
LO13
06 September Th
Peter Burke, The Renaissance [Lesson and discussion on
Renaissance historiography; discussion of the legitimacy of using the term
"Renaissance" as a meaningful mode of interpretation of other cultural places and
periods. Major document: Natalie Zieman Davis, "Was There a Renaissance
among the Seventeenth-Century Iroquois?"] LO13
11 September Tu
Gene A. Brucker, Renaissance Florence, pp. 1-25 [Major
artifacts: powerpoint presentation of transitional Florentine Renaissance art:
Brunelleschi's Doors of Paradise; Masaccio's Trinity; Fra Angelico's Last Judgment;
and Donatello's Mary Magdalen.] LO3
13 September Th
Brucker, pp. 25-50 [Major artifacts: powerpoint presentation of
Renaissance art on display from the permanent collection at San Francisco, Palace
of the Legion of Honor. Assignment follows, in pairs of students, to analyze a work
for its historical context; artist; patron; use of color and images; and meaning.]
LO23
18 September Tu
Extended work on Brucker's commentary of Florentine
architectural history. [For each photo, the students will find the
page reference where Brucker describes the place and explain what impression it
made on Brucker’s understanding of Renaissance Florence. This will entail group
work. Final question for discussion: "What did the buildings reveal to him about
the city of Florence in the Renaissance?"] LO23
20 September Th
The new Renaissance city of Europe. [Lecture with slides of new
urban patterns in the Renaissance. Powerpoint presentation of the exportation of
Florentine models of public and domestic space.] LO1
25 September Tu
Brucker, chapter 2, pp. 51-88 Government [Major documents:
Florentine municipal statutes; municipal statutes of San Bartolomeo del Gualdo
Mazzocca. Lesson on the development and decline of the Florentine republic.]
LO13
27 September Th
Brucker, chapter 3, pp. 89-127 The Guilds [Major artifact: the
guild statues of Orsanmichele.] LO3
02 October Tu
Brucker, chapter 4, pp. 128-171 Labor [Major documents:
excerpts of historical interpretations of the Ciompi Revolt, with discussion
following.] LO1
04 October Th
Brucker, chapter 5, pp. 172-212 The Church [Major artifact:
recording of Guillaume Dufay, Nuper flores rosarum.] LO3
09 October Tu
Brucker, chapter 6, pp. 213-255 Learning [Major documents:
excerpts from Machiavelli and Guicciardini, with a discussion of Florentine
humanism. LO13
11 October Th
Brucker, chapter 7, pp. 256-280 Civic Humanism [Major
document: excerpt from Hans Barron's interpretation of the Florentine crisis of
1406, with discussion of interpreting the beginning of the Renaissance in Florence.]
LO1
16 October Tu
Midterm Exams on Tuesday and Wednesday [Oral exams on
student comprehension of the Renaissance history, historiography, and, in
particular, the case study of Florence.] LO123
18 October Th
Midterm Holiday
23 October Tu
Student Lecture
Jacob Burckhardt, The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy,
pp. 1-53. The Decline of the Republics. [Major artifacts: The
mouth of secret denunciations at the ducal palace in Venice; powerpoint
presentation on the palace of Urbino, with a lesson on Duke Federigo Montefeltro]
LO13
25 October Th
Student Lecture. Recovery of the Sense of History.
Burckhardt, pp. 53-97. [Major artifacts: powerpoint of
Renaissance monumental and funereal art and architecture] LO3
30 October Tu
Student Lecture. The Birth of the Individual.
Burckhardt, pp. 98-119. [Major document: Reading from
Richard Southern on medieval humanism, with a discussion about the uniqueness of
Renaissance individuality.] LO1
01 November Th
Student Lecture
Burckhardt, pp. 120-151. Renaissance Letters. [Major
document: excerpt from Aretino.] LO3
06 November Tu
Student Lecture
Burckhardt, pp. 151-198. Renaissance Letters [Major artifact:
photo of sarcophagus of Carlo Marsuppini (Aretino); major document: excerpts
from Shakespeare's sonnets] LO13
08 November Th
Student Lecture
Burckhardt, pp. 198-248. Social Class in the Renaissance [Major
document: excerpt from Leon Battista Alberti. Major artifact: recording of
Heinrich Isaac, Palle, Palle.] LO3
13 November Tu
Student Lecture
Burckhardt, pp. 248-289. Art and Religion [Major artifact:
Titian, Sacred and Profane Love.] LO3
15 November Th
Student Lecture
Burckhardt, pp. 289-323. Renaissance Morality [Major
documents: excerpts from Machiavelli, Cicero, and Isaiah Berlin, with a discussion
on interpreting Renaissance morality.] LO13
17 November Sa
Legion of Honor Tour LO23
20 November Tu
Student Lecture
Burckhardt, pp. 323-351. Popular Belief [Major documents:
Renaissance-era spells and curses.] LO3
22 November Th
Thanksgiving Holiday
27 November Tu
Student Lecture
Baldassare Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier, bk. 1. The
Perfect Courtier
[Major artifacts: images of 15th and 16th century courtiers]
LO3
29 November Th
Student Lecture
Castiglione, bk. 2. The Perfect Court Lady.
[Major artifacts: images of 15th and 16th century court ladies]
LO3
04 December Tu
LO3
Student Lecture
Castiglione, bk. 3. Laughter [Major artifact: Brueghel's art]
06 December Th
Student Lecture
Castiglone, bk 4. Love [Major document: excerpt from Plato,
Symposium] LO13
12-13 December WTh
interpretations] LO123
Final Exams [Oral exam on Renaissance history and its
Course requirements
Reading, regular attendance, participation in the class work, writing, and completion of
exams are the essentials. I consider your enrollment in the course as your commitment to
explore together the meaning of the Renaissance in European history. Eight absences for
whatever reason will constitute a failure of the course. Please contact me if something
prevents you from joining us. Please remain the class for the entire period. Credit for
participation will be affected otherwise.
At 9:40 promptly I will distribute a question based upon the reading and ask you to write
an answer to the question with the help of your book. This exercise is intended to refresh
your familiarity with the reading and to allow you to gauge the care and the amount of
time that you have given to preparing for the class. Time spent on the reading checks
will be little more than five minutes. LO1
Daily Preparation. Reading ahead of time is important both for understanding of my
remarks and for the richness of class discussion. LO123
Discussion Leadership. We will rotate leadership of our discussion of the texts that we
have read during the week. As leader, you will have considerable leeway in engaging
your classmates in the discussions, so be creative. LO2
Essays. The essays are an opportunity for you to think at length on the readings and to try
to make sense of them in light of the stated goals of the course. LO123
Exams. The exams will be oral, in which you will have a twenty minute conversation
with Brother Charles, the purpose of which will be to determine your comprehension of
the readings, lectures, and discussions and the depth of your reflection on the questions of
the course. LO123
Class lectures. Each student will lecture to the class on their research into a topic on
transalpine Renaissance history, provided at the beginning of the course. The lectures
will take place one a day in the second half of the semester. The student will have 20
minutes of lecture time followed by 10 minutes of questions and discussion. Written peer
evaluations will follow. LO2
Tour. There is a Saturday tour as part of the course. It is of the Early European Art
collection of the Palace of the Legion of Honor. You are expected to attend for the
completion of the course requirements. Student teams will be lecturing on individual
works of art in situ. Lunch will be provided. LO3
Grade Evaluation. Your grade will be based on occasional essays and writing (30%); the
oral exams combined (30%); art and research lectures (30%); and reading
checks/participation (10%).
Use of computers and other digital media will be negotiated.
Learning Outcomes
 Students will learn to examine thoughtfully the European society that emerged after
the collapse of the fourteenth century outbreak of the Black Death and the culture
of that society that reached its peak in the sixteenth century and was transformed
in many ways in the early seventeenth century. Primacy is given to Italy as the
birthplace and model for the new culture of the Renaissance. Transalpine
Renaissance history will be considered in comparison to Italy. The examination
will be historical with an interdisciplinary inclusion of political, economic, urban,
artistic, musical, literary, legal, religious, and cultural history.

Students will understand the history of the Renaissance era in Europe through the
perspective of seminal works of interpretation, including the foundational text for
the study of the Renaissance, Jacob Burckhardt's The Civilization of the
Renaissance in Italy. Students will also be familiar with various theories of
causation of the changes that constituted the end of the Middle Ages and the rise
of the Renaissance.
 Students will learn how to research, analyze, and present questions in Renaissance
history. Research work will be practiced in the daily preparation of discussion
leadership and in the preparation of a major lesson for the second half of the
course. Students will lecture on a topic chosen from an assigned list. The lecture
will consist of a presentation built around a thesis and supported by evidence.
Students will make their sources of evidence obvious and will provide the class
with an annotated bibliography.
 Students will understand the meaning of humanism in its Renaissance context.
Students will also understand the major developments in the visual arts and
architecture and be able to relate those developments to the themes of
Renaissance humanism. Students will have the ability to analyze documents and
other primary sources as part of their interpretation of the culture of the
Renaissance.
Student Disability Services
Student Disability Services extends reasonable and appropriate accommodations that take
into account the context of the course and its essential elements for individuals with
qualifying disabilities. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Student
Disability Services Office at (925) 631-4358 to set up a confidential appointment to
discuss accommodation guidelines and available services. Additional information
regarding the services available may be found at the following address on the Saint
Mary’s website: http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/sds
Academic Honor Code
Always make sure work submitted is entirely your own and credit any and all borrowed
ideas and information that goes beyond common knowledge. According to the Academic
Honor Code, “Academic dishonesty is a serious violation of College policy because,
among other things, it undermines the bonds of trust and honesty between members of
the community.” Violations of the Code include but are not limited to acts of plagiarism.
For more information, please consult the Student Handbook at http://www.stmarysca.edu/your-safety-resources/student-handbook