HIST4564 EXAM STUDY GUIDE
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HIST4564 SPECIAL TOPICS IN SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL HISTORY:
MACHIAVELLI
(The World of the Renaissance during the Time of Machiavelli)
Guidelines for the Final Exam
LOGISTICS FOR THE TAKE-HOME EXAM
We will meet in AS379 on Monday, December 10th at 9:00a.m. Exams will be
distributed then. The exams will be due on the following day, Tuesday, at 4:00p.m. I
hope that members of the class will be able to meet for a celebratory drink in the Backlot
pub (after the exam, of course; we will meet in my office at 4:00p.m.).
GENERAL GUIDELINES
i) Students must use only materials from this course, be they the primary documents, the
textbooks, articles, lecture notes, my Power Point presentations, or the student
presentations;
ii) Students are not allowed to consult with other students about the take-home exam
during the time allotted to write the exam (students are of course invited to form a study
group to prepare for the exam; you can also come see me in my office, as I will be
holding regular office hours during the exam period)
iii) My preference of course is that students type their exams, although this is not
required; if you are going to write the exam by hand, please write double-spaced, on both
sides of the pages, and in good readable script (it does not have to be beautiful prose, and
I will not be marking the exam for grammar, writing style, etc., but try to use a formal
essay-writing style);
iv) Read the exam and instructions carefully before writing anything (and do not try to
answer every question on the exam like one nervous guy did a few years ago; there is a
great deal of choice on the exam);
v) Before beginning to write one of the essays, prepare an outline and think about what
you will write (be sure to keep everything relevant and to answer the question).
REQUIRED MATERIAL
i) the main textbooks
King, Margaret L. The Renaissance in Europe. Boston and New York: McGrawHill, 2005.
HIST4564 EXAM STUDY GUIDE
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Welch, Evelyn. Art in Renaissance Italy. Oxford and New York: Oxford
University Press, 1997.
Adams, Robert M., Ed. and Trans. Niccolò Machiavelli: The Prince. Second
Edition. New York: Norton, 1992.
Adams, Robert M., Ed. and Trans. Desiderius Erasmus: The Praise of Folly and
Other Writings. New York: Norton, 1989.
Muir, Edward. Ritual in Early Modern Europe. Second Edition. Cambridge and
New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
ii) the supplementary articles in the course outline
While there will not be specific questions on these individual pieces, they
certainly will be useful and applicable in answering the thematic essay questions (in some
cases, not knowing the central purpose and message of a particular article will result in a
very weak answer).
FORMAT OF THE EXAM
The exam will consist of three sections of essays (answer one essay from each
section). Write about eight pages for each question (2-3 pages would not be sufficient to
answer the question). Each question will revolve around the central themes in this course
(use the Power Point outlines that I gave in class; that is an excellent place to start).
Below you will find a list of themes for each class, an expanded version of the course
schedule
Here are a few typical exam questions:
1. Renaissance Art reflects some of the main themes in this course. Discuss this is in
relation to Welch’s book, and refer specifically in your answer to any two of the
following: i) Catholic devotion; ii) conveying political authority; and iii) the role of
women in the domestic household.
2. Rituals in Early Modern Europe can be linked to the understanding of the body that
could be found in this period. Discuss in relation to the struggle between Carnival and
Lent and be sure to include in your answer the role played by some key Renaissance
texts?
HIST4564 EXAM STUDY GUIDE
Part I: Foundations and Background
Tuesday, September 18, 2007: Background and Origins
Readings:
King, The Renaissance in Europe, Introduction, pp. viii-xv; ch. 1, pp. 131, ch. 2, pp. 33-63; ch. 3, pp. 64-99
themes:
-the first section on the different understanding of the term “Renaissance” is particularly
important (our understanding of the term has broadened considerably over the past few
decades)
-the Renaissance as an urban movement, in Italy
-the role of the Black Death in stopping the initial phase
-the focus on defining what is humanism, different definitions and conceptions of
humanism
-the definitions of Renaissance humanism implied in much of this can be linked in a
broader sense to the introductory chapter in the King text
Tuesday, September 25, 2007: Renaissance Humanism and Culture
Readings:
King, The Renaissance in Europe, ch. 4, pp. 101-135; ch. 5, pp. pp. 137165; ch. 6, pp. 167-193
Hankins, James. “Renaissance Humanism and Historiography Today.”
Ed. Jonathan Woolfson. Renaissance Historiography.
Houndsmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England: Palgrave
MacMillan, 2005. 73-96.
themes:
-here, we’re moving away from the conception of the Renaissance as just a cultural
movement to a focus on Renaissance society, social structures, differences between
public and private life and the relevance of those differences for conceptions and
constructions of gender
-what did the Renaissance mean for women, for example? Was there a Renaissance for
women?
--in a nutshell, we’re also qualifying Burckhardt’s accent on the secular focus of the
Renaissance (e.g. individual capabilities)
-modern historiography argues that religion was still very important in the Renaissance
--participation in confraternities, lay expressions of religious devotion during the
Renaissance (along with the dilemmas and qualifications involved in this)
--and that while there was corruption in the upper echelons of the church hierarchy (a
veritable sink of iniquity, you might say), there is evidence of profound religious
devotion among the laity
-not just religious fervor expressed in the following of Savonarola, but actual
involvement in charitable activities
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HIST4564 EXAM STUDY GUIDE
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Part II: Machiavelli’s Main Writings (three weeks)
Tuesday, October 2, 2007: The Prince
Readings:
King, The Renaissance in Europe, ch. 7, pp. 195-223, ch. 8, pp. 225-255
“Introduction: The Puzzle of the Prince.” Trans. and Ed. William J.
Connell. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli with Related
Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005. 1-37.
Adams, Niccolò Machiavelli: The Prince, pp. vi-xix (skim pp. xvii-xix), 372
themes:
-you do not need to know every last historical detail about the messy world of Italian
Renaissance politics and the turbulent political history of the peninsula in the
Renaissance period
-but you should have good sufficient detail on why this climate was the way it was, a
climate that provided the contextual backdrop for Machiavelli’s The Prince
-some important concepts in The Prince: virtù/fortuna, understanding of human nature,
issue of Christian morality (or lack thereof; prince operates above it), what a prince needs
to survive in this political jungle, gender issues, etc.
-the big dilemma of understanding why Machiavelli wrote what he did (connections to
his personal life and his distinct historical context)
-also, a bit on the reaction to Machiavelli’s work across Europe
Tuesday, October 11, 2007: More Writings by Machiavelli
Kelly, Joan, “Did Women Have a Renaissance?” Eds. Renate Bridenthal,
Claudia Koonz, Susan Stuard. Becoming Visible: Women in
European History. Second Edition. Boston and Dallas: Houghton
Mifflin Company, 1987. 175-201.
themes:
-using Machiavelli’s The Prince to connect to the question raised in Kelly’s article
(specifically, the aspects in Machiavelli’s work that deal with virtù and fortuna; “fortune
is a woman”)
-the depiction of women in The Prince
Tuesday, October 16, 2007: Some of Machiavelli’s Other Writings
Readings:
Adams, Niccolò Machiavelli: The Prince, pp. 75-135
Excerpt from his Florentine Histories, in Donald R. Kelley, ed., Versions
of History from Antiquity to the Enlightenment (New Haven and
London: Yale University Press, 1991), pp. 284-288.
themes:
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-the intent of this session was to add some nuance to our understanding of Machiavelli
--not just the apostle of political amorality, survival of the fittest and all that stuff
-republicanism and system of checks and balances expressed in the Discorsi; why he held
this admiration for the Roman republican system and why is there is an apparent
contradiction between that text and The Prince
-Machiavelli’s view on religion (pious or self-serving), his character; the role of the
people
-the three articles by Gilbert, Cassirer, and Hale should help you understand these
qualifications even better, although I won’t be asking you specific questions about these
on the final exam
-a bit more on biographical material on Machiavelli, in order to understand who he was,
why he wrote what he did, and how he was linked with the Renaissance
-Machiavelli’s conception of history
Part III: Art, Politics, and Society
Tuesday, October 23, 2007: Art and Society, Part I
Readings:
King, The Renaissance in Europe, re-read ch. 4, pp. 101-135
Welch, Art in Renaissance Italy, Preface, Introduction, pp. 9-33; all of Part
I, pp. 37-129
themes:
-overall, we use the Welch book to look at the artistic manifestations and expressions of
some of the main themes in this course, many of them discussed above
-strong accent on art and society (not just on techniques, methods, materials)
-link also to the commercial context of Renaissance Italy (why it gains such momentum
in this part of Europe)
-the most important element here for this class is the link between artist and patron
-remember too that Welch offers depth and qualification to what is said in the King
textbook (ex. the issue of the new status of the artist in the Renaissance period)
Tuesday, October 30, 2007: Art and Society, Part II
Readings:
Welch, Art in Renaissance Italy, Part II, pp. 133-207, Part III, pp. 211273, Part IV, pp. 277-311
Mazzotta, Giuseppe. “Politics and Art: The Question of Perspective in
Della Pittura and Il Principe.” Rinascimento 43 (2003): 15-29.
themes:
-this is the much more important part of the book (spend more time on this section of the
book)
-this is where you see more profoundly the intersection between this book and the themes
of this course
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i) Art, religion, and religious belief (images of death and the afterlife)
ii) Renaissance politics and the use of art as propaganda (for despotisms or civic
republics)
iii) Art and the domestic sphere (how art reflects gender hierarchies and the distinction
between private sphere and the public sphere)
Part IV: The Reaction to Machiavelli across Europe and the Development of
Christian Humanism
Tuesday, November 6, 2007: The Renaissance and Christian Humanism, Part I
Readings:
King, The Renaissance in Europe, ch. 9, pp. 257-285, ch. 10, pp. 287-319
Adams, Niccolò Machiavelli: The Prince, pp. 236-247
Adams, Desiderius Erasmus: The Praise of Folly and Other Writings, pp.
vii-viii, 3-87, 228-251
themes:
-concept of the Age of Reform (Europe’s Reformations did not necessarily begin with
Luther)
-the dissemination of Machiavelli’s thought throughout Europe
-the migration of Renaissance humanism and Renaissance concepts across the Alps,
where the accent changes to some extent to Christian humanism
--humanism in the service of Christianity
-who is most central here? Erasmus (along with some other Christian humanist types like
More and Vives, but the accent is on Erasmus)
-how are Erasmus and Luther different? Why didn’t Erasmus become Protestant?
Praise of Folly
-the letter to Dorp and the articles should clarify the intent, message, and method of the
work
-issue of the type of humor, satire (carnivalesque, “world turned upside down”)
-what and whom does Folly criticize and why? How?
-the gender issue (the character of Folly can be seen in same as Machiavelli’s idea that
“Fortune is a woman”?)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007: The Renaissance and Europe’s Reformations
Readings:
Adams, Desiderius Erasmus: The Praise of Folly and Other Writings, pp.
88-227, 297-317
Anglo, Sydney. “In Praise of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.”
Machiavelli─The First Century: Studies in Enthusiasm, Hostility
and Irreverence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
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themes:
-here, we are adding nuance and color to our study of Erasmus, through the investigation
of his other texts
-the central concept: live your life according to the way that Christ would have lived it or
told you to live it; the philosophy of Christ
-subthemes of that central nucleus
--reform of the church, reform of lay worship and understanding of Christian doctrine;
simplified Christianity, back to the basics, the original church
--his political views (“anti-Machiavelli” in sentiment, although it’s not clear if he ever
corresponded with Machiavelli or read any of his works; Erasmus’ accent on the
Christian prince)
--his pacifism (of all sorts; against any form of discord; links to Protestant-Catholic
conflict and his need to de-emphasize the differences between the two creeds, because the
focus is on Christian morality anyway rather than minute and arguably inconsequential
points of doctrine and theology)
--gender issues (his belief in the need for female education; ideas about female
capabilities)
-the point that could be made about the Anglo article is that in a strange twist of fate,
religion and this heightened religious antagonism made Machivaelli’s ideas applicable,
even if they would not say that they were quoting Machiavelli (they couldn’t;
Machiavelli was put on the index)
Part V: Culture, Ritual, and Politics
Tuesday, November 20, 2007: Ritual and the Renaissance, Part I
Readings:
Muir, Ritual in Early Modern Europe, pp. 1-154
themes:
-the same purpose as the Welch book: to use this element of ritual (art for Welch) to
refract themes from this course, how the themes of the course turn up in ritual
-you should have some understanding of Muir’s theoretical understanding behind the
concept of ritual (definitions, use of socio-cultural anthropology, different meanings and
purposes of ritual)
-there are actually three conceptions of time in this book, if you like
i) rites of passage: rites in the stages of a person’s life (baptism, marriage, etc.)
ii) ritual calendar: rites throughout the year
iii) changes in ritual across time
-conflict between Lent and Carnival
-links to notions of the body too (lower and upper)
-strong link with the Renaissance: particularly the new accent on manners (Elias, “the
civilizing process”): gradual triumph of the upper body over the lower body (for example,
dining)
HIST4564 EXAM STUDY GUIDE
Tuesday, November 27, 2007: Ritual and the Renaissance, Part II/Conclusion and
Review for the Final Exam
Readings:
Muir, Ritual in Early Modern Europe, pp. 155-190, 202-216, 224-287
themes:
-this part expands on the third part of the chronological divisions from the previous
session
--looking at the important turning point in the sixteenth century: the Reformation period
in particular
-what the advent of Protestantism does to traditional rituals
--from immanence (presence) to transcendence (representation)
-but the Reformation also had their own rituals, or counter-rituals if you like (e.g.
iconoclasm)
-government as a ritual process (Protestant and Catholic countries): the symbolism of
authority
--reflects some of the central aims but also problems inherent in ritual (see pp. 286-287
--civic rituals and the sense of civic identity
--the king’s two bodies
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