Modern Languages 186-1 Spring 2012
Italian Civilization 1 – From Pre-History to the Renaissance
M/F 12:40 – 2:10
Professor Costanza Gislon Dopfel, Ph.D.
Office hours: Tu/Th 12:20-1:10; Tu 4:30-5:00 and by appointment
Office: Dante 318
cdopfel@stmarys-ca.edu
Course description:
ML 186-1, Italian Civilization, is an interdisciplinary culture course that focuses on the history, art,
literature, music and society of Italy. It is taught sequentially in two parts/courses that can be taken
independently. This syllabus refers to the first part/course. The first course covers the time period
from proto-history to the Renaissance, while the second course starts with a review of the Middle Ages
and Renaissance and ends with present-day Italy.
The material covered in the first part includes history, art, literature and architecture. The class and the
readings are in English, and the course has no pre-requisites. This course is highly recommended to
students who plan to spend a semester in Italy and to students pursuing a Minor or Major in Italian
Studies and Art History.
The course looks at Italian history and civilization through its artistic and literary expressions as linked
to notions of justice, society and the common good. Each historical period is examined through the
lens of multiple works of art positioned against historical source documents. Accordingly, students are
expected to become familiar with the history of the country, hundreds of works of art, several literary
works as well as a selection of musical pieces. Particular attention is given to the issue of dominance and
imperialism, since Italy has been (and still is) either the subject or the object of conquest and
colonization, both external and internal. In light of this history of oppression, the question of the just
society and the common good is analyzed through historical documents and major works of art, from
the Ara Pacis and Virgil’s Aeneid, to the frescoes depicting an ideal society in medieval Tuscany and the
poetry of the Dolce Stil Nuovo, to Machiavelli’s unique vision of the relationship between
justice/unjustice and the ultimate goal leading to the Common Good. Starting with the Roman
concept of Iustitia, students will be encouraged to discover how concepts of common welfare and just
government changed through time according to the historical conditions, and how these same notions
influenced both art and literature.
Course Goals:
To interpret and critique works of Italian literature, music and art within their specific historical and social
context; to coherently articulate such analysis both verbally and in writing using appropriate vocabulary; to
understand the historical development of Italian civilization with particular attention to the elaboration of
evolving notions of justice and their representation; to understand the connection between such notions, the
political situations within which they arise and the corresponding artistic creation; to understand the
development of art and literature as living and ever-changing expressions of the history of a society, its ideals
and its realities; to connect the material expressions of historical periods while recognizing, identifying and
analyzing the source of their differences; to learn different analytical approaches and methodologies.
Course outcomes:
Students will learn how to examine works of art in an accurate and observant way, connecting them to
historical periods and social conditions, and to present their analysis both verbally and in writing using
appropriate vocabulary; they will learn how to establish a dialogue between specific artwork and
notions of justice as well as use non-textual objects as a source of reflection on ideas and representation
of just social order; they will be able to understand and identify different periods and styles, while
connecting them to key historical, social and political events and issues in the wider context of
civilization, culture and the Common Good.
Textbooks:
George Holmes, The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy, Oxford University Press - H
Marilyn Bradshaw, Italian Renaissance Art, Pearson/Prentice Hall- A
Cicero, On Laws
Virgil’s Aeneid – selection
St. Francis, Sermons, Letters and Prayers
Machiavelli, The Prince, selection
Dante, The Divine Comedy, selection
Boccaccio: The Decameron
Edgar Wind, Pagan Mysteries of the Renaissance
Ludovico Ariosto – Orlando Furioso
Classroom Policy and Procedure
Attendance and participation are necessary in this course. Come prepared to listen, respond and be
involved in class activities. After three absences, each absence will result in one point being deducted
from the total percentage points at the end of the semester. There is no distinction between excused
and unexcused absences. Repeated tardiness is not acceptable. No eating in class unless it is social
eating.
Honor Code: This course follows all rules and practices of Saint Mary’s College Honor Code.
Students will be required to submit their papers through Turnitin.
Students with disabilities:
Reasonable and appropriate accommodations, that take into account the context of the course and its essential
elements, for individuals with qualifying disabilities, are extended through the office of Student Disability Services.
Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services Coordinator at (925) 631-4164
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 May’s website:
http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/academics/academic-advising-and-achievement/student-disabilityservices.html
Week 1 Mon,
Fri
Featured art:
Reading:
Introduction – H pp.1-26
Before Rome – Celts, Etruscans, Sabines
Republican Rome, the notion of justice and citizenship (civis romanus sum)
The statue of the She-Wolf and the Ara Pacis
Cicero, On Laws
Week 2 –
Mon
Fri
Featured art:
Rise and fall of Rome – H pp 27-56
Iustitia and Roman Law in the Empire –The Fall of Rome
Barbarians, the early Middle Ages and the feudal system
The arches of Titus and of Constantine
Reading:
Virgil, Aeneid
Week 3 Mon
Fri
Featured art:
Reading:
Communes, Just Government and Democracy– A pp.1-33; H pp 57-62
Monks, Popes and Friars – Saint Francis and Social Justice
Courtly Love and the new notion of true nobility
Simone Martini’s Annunciation
San Francesco’s prayers
Selected Courtly Love poems
Week 4Mon
Fri
Featured art:
Power Struggle in Florence: Duecento and Trecento – A pp.33-68; H pp 62-67
Freedom, independence and justice in medieval cities: Siena vs. Florence
Divine justice: La Divina Commedia
Lorenzetti’s frescoes of the Good and Bad Governments
Week 5 Mon
Fri
Featured art:
Reading:
Trecento, the Black Death and the Collapse of Society– H pp 86-93
Giotto and the representation of Justice
Petrarch and Boccaccio
Giotto’s Deposition; Giotto’s Justice and Unjustice frescoes in Padua
Petrarch, selected poems
Boccaccio: The Decameron – Justice and women
Week 6
Mon
Featured art:
Fri
Featured art:
The Early Renaissance : Humanism and the rediscovery of human dignity A pp. 69146; H pp 68-76
Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello ; artists of the Republic
Donatello’s two Davids
Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Paolo Uccello,
Beato Angelico’s Annunciation
Week 7
Mon
Featured art:
Fri
Reading:
The Quattrocento and the experimentation in pagan philosophy: A pp. 147-178
Alberti, Botticelli and neo-platonism
Botticelli’s Primavera
PRESENTATIONS
Edgar Wind, Pagan Mysteries of the Renaissance
Week 8 Easter recess
Week 9 –
Fri
The Medici and the rise of absolutist rule – A pp. 287-302; H pp 93-112
Film and discussion: The Medici godfathers of the Renaissance
PRESENTATIONS
Week 10 –
Mon
Fri
Featured art:
Reading:
The end of the quattrocento - A pp. 183-204 and 303-308; H pp 76-85
RESEARCH PAPER FIRST DRAFT DUE
Andrea Mantegna and Mantova, Perugino and Rome
Bellini and Venice: la Serenissima as the last just government?
Mantegna’s Dead Christ
Ludovico Ariosto – Orlando Furioso
Week 11 –
Mon
The Cinquecento: Sacrificing justice for power– A pp. 207-252
Leonardo da Vinci and Raffaello
Fri
Featured art:
Reading:
Michelangelo
The Sistine Chapel
Machiavelli, The Prince
Week 12 Mon
Fri
Featured art:
Reading:
Foreign invasions and the end of the Renaissance- A pp. 253- 280; H pp 113-138
Pontormo and Bronzino
Titian
Bronzino’s Allegory of Love
Castiglione, The Courtier
Week 13 –
Mon
Fri
RESEARCH PAPER FINAL DRAFT DUE
Review
Review
Week 14 Mon 5/10 - FINAL
Presentation guidelines:
choose a work of art (literature, art or music) that represents historical notions of justice and discuss
how such notions inform the creative process.
1. choose a work of art that represents historical notions of justice (ex. Ara Pacis/ the altar of
peace)
2. discuss how justice and just government are represented (Justice and Piety impersonated by
Augustus)
3. reflect on the connection between the historical period and the way the artwork frames the
notion of justice (after decades of civil war a just government should guarantee peace above all
things)
Paper guidelines:
comment in written form on the relationship between a concrete social problem in a specific historical
period, its representation through art and the way the artwork describes specific issues.
1. Choose a relevant social issue (ex. The end of the republican and democratic rule in some
city states, the attempts of aristocratic families to control the government)
2. Select an artwork that represents such problem (The fresco of the Bad Government)
3. Identify what social or political issues are projected in the artwork (tyranny, the disruption
of social life, poverty in both the city and the countryside)
Grading:
Midterm 15%; Final 25%; Paper 35%
Attendance and Participation 15%
Presentation 10%
Attendance is mandatory: more than three absences will result in point deduction from your final
grade.
Honor Code: This course follows all rules and practices of Saint Mary’s College Honor Code.
Students will be required to submit their papers through Turnitin.