History 3313: Renaisssance History 13001550
Syllabus, Fall 2010
Dr. Shana Worthen
Please contact me via ssworthen@ualr.edu
You MUST put the name of the class in the subject line.
Office hours: via Blackboard Chat interface, by appointment
http://sworthen.owlfish.com
Syllabus Index
Course Description
Schedule
Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5
Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10
Week 11, Week 12, Week 13, Week 14, Week 15
Textbook List
Assignments and Grading
Participation Guidelines
Policies
Course Description
Renaisssance History 1300-1550 will examine the major factors which influenced the
period which named itself "the Renaissance". We will consider social, cultural, economic,
geographic, religious, political, artistic, and technological factors which affected the
phenomenon's development and spread. A particular focus of the course will be on
Europe's interactions with the rest of the world, including by means of trade and
exploration, and, in particular, Europe's interactions with the Islamic world. Although
many topics will be dealt with in roughly chronological order, the course is organized
more by theme than it is by precise chronology. The first half of the course will primarily
cover the Renaissance in Italy, while the second half will examine the way it spread to
other parts of Europe.
Schedule
In addition to the readings assigned on this syllabus, supplemental readings and notes
may be added to these. All supplemental material for a week will be posted to the course
website by the end of the previous week at the absolute latest.
Note: Class weeks will end on Friday at midnight unless otherwise specified in the
syllabus. All work is due by midnight on its due date, including that week's discussion
contributions.
Week 1: What is the Renaissance?
Assigned Readings
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2.
3.
Short History, Ch. 1 Introduction
Renaissance Bazaar, Introduction (Note: The book's color image plates are in
the middle of the book.)
In the "Additional Readings" folder: "How not to plagiarize"
Work due
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Anytime this week - Introduce yourself on the Introductions board; read the
syllabus carefully; read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Browse through The Earthly Republic and read any articles which interest you in
preparation for the essay assignments.
Week 2: Europe at the Beginning of the Renaissance
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
Short History, Ch. 2 Peoples of Europe
Short History, Ch. 3 Disasters
Work due
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Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 3: Daily Life and Politics in Renaissance Italy
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
3.
Short History, Ch. 4 Italy
Giovanni and Lusanna, Ch. 1.
Francesco Petrarca, "How a Ruler Ought to Govern His State" in The Earthly
Republic
Work due
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(Monday: Labor Day Holiday)
Thursday - Cast of Characters assignment due
Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 4: Florence and Politics
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
3.
Leonardo Bruni, "Panegyric to the City of Florence" in The Earthly Republic
Angelo Poliziano, "The Pazzi Conspiracy" in The Earthly Republic
The Prince (Chapters TBA)
Work due
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Wednesday-Thursday - Quiz #1
Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 5: Global Influences on Daily Life
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
Renaissance Bazaar, Ch. 1 A global renaissance
Primary Source reading
Work due
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Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 6: Italian Humanists and Writers
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
3.
Short History, Ch. 5 Culture of Renaissance Humanism in Italy
Renaissance Bazaar, Ch. 2 The humanist script
Coluccio Salutati, "Letter to Pellegrino Zambeccari" in The Earthly Republic
Work due
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Thursday - Essay Proposal due
Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 7: Italian Renaissance Arts
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
3.
Short History, Ch. 6 Painting in Italy
Short History, Ch. 7 Sculpture, Architecture, Music
Renaissance Bazaar, Ch. 4 Putting things in perspective
Work due
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Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 8: The Courtier
Assigned Readings
1.
The Book of the Courtier (Especially parts 1 & 4; if you're thinking of writing an
essay on Italian Renaissance women, you must read part 3 as well.)
Work due
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Thursday-Friday - Quiz #2
Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 9: The Renaissance in Northern Europe
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
3.
Short History, Ch. 8 Northern Monarchies
Short History, Ch. 9 The Renaissance in the North
Renaissance Bazaar, Ch. 3 Church and State
Work due
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Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 10: The Beginnings of the Reformation
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
3.
Short History, Ch. 10 Martin Luther
Short History, Ch. 11 Lutheranism
Primary Source Reading
Work due
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Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 11: The Reformation Continues
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
3.
Short History, Ch. 12 Zwingli
Short History, Ch. 13 Calvinism
Primary Source Reading
Work due
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Thursday - Essay Draft due
Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 12: The Reformation in England
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
3.
Short History, Ch. 14 Reformation in England to 1558
Short History, Ch. 15 Two Queens
"The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women" John Knox (1558)
Work due
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Wednesday-Thursday - Quiz #3
Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 13: The Effects of the Reformation
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
3.
Short History, Ch. 16 Roman Catholic Reformation
Short History, Ch. 17 Religious Warfare
Short History, Ch. 18 The Legacy
Work due
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Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 14: Exploring the World
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
Renaissance Bazaar, Ch. 5 Brave new worlds
Utopia, Thomas More, Chapters TBA
Work due
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Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Week 14 Discussion will be due on Tuesday of Week 15.
(Thursday-Sunday - Thanksgiving Vacation)
Week 15: Knowing the World
Assigned Readings
1.
2.
Renaissance Bazaar, Ch. 6 Experiments, dreams, and performances
The Tempest, William Shakespeare. Excerpts TBA
Work due
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Anytime this week - Read the assigned readings; participate in discussions.
Monday, December 6th - Final Essay due. Last day of classes.
Quiz #4 will be available for the first two full days of the final exam period,
Wednesday and Thursday.
Assigned Textbooks
The following textbooks are required for this course, and are available for sale from the
UALR bookstore:
Jerrry Brotton. The Renaissance Bazaar. Oxford University Press,
2003.
Jonathan Zophy. A Short History of Renaissance and Reformation
Europe. 4th edition. Prentice Hall, 2008.
Gene Brucker. Giovanni and Lusanna: Love and Marriage in
Renaissance Florence. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.
Benjamin Kohl and Ronald G. Witt, eds. The Earthly Republic: Italian
Humanists on Government and Society. University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1978.
Castiglione. The Book of the Courtier. George Bull, trans. (Penguin
Classics). Penguin, 1976.
Other required readings will be available either in the course shell or linked to from the
syllabus.
Assignments and Grading
Per week
Discussion board weekly topic participation 2%
Writing Assignments
Variable
10% (per quiz)
Quizzes
(Best 3 out of 4)
In Total
30%
40%
30%
Grades are calculated on the following scale:
A = 90-100%
B = 80-89%
C = 70-79%
D = 60-69%
F = 0-59%
Late Work, Missed Work, and Penalties: It is not possible to make up the weekly
discussion participation or quizzes. Writing assignments may be turned in late, with a late
penalty of 3% per day late, up to a possible capped total of 50% in late penalties. If you
need an extension on any assignment, please ask as soon as possible. Quizzes may not be
made up but, in compensation, only the best three out of four quizzes will count toward
your final grade.
Students are responsible for all information given through the "Course Announcements"
discussion board.
There is no lecture component to this course. Instead, you are required to actively read
and participate in discussion boards several times a week in lieu of a lecture and face-toface discussion. You are responsible for all of the information presented in
discussions, in addition to the information in the assigned readings.
Participation will be based on participation in class discussion boards. Each week I will
set two or three questions or topics for discussion. Students must make substantive
comments each week on at least three different occasions in response to these questions
and those asked by other students. (Comments must be separated by at least six hours in
order to count as separate comments.) Students are encouraged to contribute their own
questions, especially if they have any raised by the assigned readings. I will check in to
these boards regularly and add to the discussions. See below for further information on
what constitutes adequate participation in the discussion boards.
For the purposes of deadlines, each week of the course ends at midnight on Friday. All
work due that week must be submitted by then, unless another date is specified in the
syllabus or on the Announcements board.
In addition to assigned readings and graded assignments, you are responsible for
any supplemental readings assigned over the course of the semester.
You must be polite and considerate to your fellow students. Give constructive replies to
others' comments. All your work for the course is logged.
Always keep copies of your work until you receive your overall grade for the semester,
just in case any files are lost or corrupted.
Participation Guidelines and Grading Criteria
for Discussions
Discussion Boards are like Chat Rooms, but not in real-time. They are the core of this
course. It is important that you follow the discussions carefully and participate regularly
in them.
Full credit can only be given to people who clearly are reading all the other posts and
responding to the other people in the class. Fulfilling the minimum requirements for
discussion will earn a C.
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Weekly discussion closes at Friday at midnight. Late comments are welcome,
but will not count towards the week's grade.
Discussions are graded on a 100 percentage point scale, but converted to points
out of 2 for ease of calculating your overall grade.
Posts will not count as being posted on separate occasions until six hours have
elapsed betwen them. Students may post as frequently as they wish, but until six
hours have passed, they will not received credit for posting on second occasion.
Students must have contributed to the discussion boards at least three separate
times (separated by at least 6 hours each) per week to be eligible for 75% or
above. Example: You post at 8 am on Wednesday, 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 10
am on Thursday, and 10 am on Friday. This will give you credit for posting on
three, not four, occasions to the board, since the two Wednesday posts were
separated by only 2 hours.
Full credit will be given only to comments that are relatively free from grammar
and spelling errors (type them in a word processing program, spell-check, cut
and paste) and written for your fellow students - that means that they should not
be free-form ramblings or filled with colloquial language. They don't have to be
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formal, but try to make them in the same tone as you would use in class. You
may use smiley faces, etc. to indicate tone if you like.
Answers taken directly from the textbook will not receive credit. Write in your
own words, and mark quotations clearly with quotation marks and a short,
specific reference to explain precisely where the words come from. A specific
reference is one which leads to a specific piece of information: a book reference
with specific page number(s) or a full, specific URL. Using specific references
on a regular basis will also help you avoid plagiarizing.
You will receive more points for your posts if you include at least one specific
citation in at least one posts that week. Specific citations and references to other
documents, might include the textbooks, readings, and any other relevant
material.
Thoughtful discussion is the key. The point is to show that you are internalizing
and digesting the information from readings and class, and then applying and
relating that information to particular questions or comments.
"I agree" and other such comments, don't count as comments, but they do count
for something, if you explain why.
Minimum requirement for 65 points - make at least two substantive posts on two
separate occasions.
Minimum requirement for 75 points - the same as above, but with at least three
posts on three separate occasions.
Minimum requirement for 85 points - as above, but with at least four separate
posts on four separate occasions
To get above the minimum, and anything above 85 points, comments must also
demonstrate that you are thinking about temporal and geographic context, as
well as taking into considerations social, power, gender, political, etc.,
relationships and events that might come into play. Also, relevant anecdotes
from your own experience are particularly encouraged.
The highest parts of each grade bracket are only available if you clearly are
interacting with other students, responding to their posts, not just the questions I
post each week.
At least one comment or post per week must include a specific citation
(textbook, other articles, websites, t.v. shows only if specific dates and titles are
given) in order to be eligible for 90 points or higher.
Grading will get tougher as the term goes on and people become more used to
the discussion board.
Communication Policy
Please use use regular email (i.e. ssworthen@ualr.edu) to correspond with me the course.
You MUST include the name of the class in your subject line, or I will not respond (i.e
HCiv, History of Civ, HIST 1311). I aim to respond to student email within 36 hours, not
counting weekends. As I am usually six timezones ahead of Little Rock, this may
sometimes mean that I will not see email sent on Friday until Monday morning.
Students with Disabilities
It is the policy of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to create inclusive learning
environments. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in
barriers to your inclusion or to accurate assessment of achievement - such as time-limited
exams, inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos - please notify the
instructor as soon as possible. Students are also welcome to contact the Disability
Resource Center, telephone 501-569-3143 (v/tty). For more information, visit the DRC
website at http://ualr.edu/disability/.
History Department Assessment Policy
The policy of the History Department is to engage students in the process of assessing
courses in the department's curriculum. Department faculty and the UALR administration
use assessment data to monitor how well students are learning both historical content and
the skills of essay writing. At several points during the semester you may be asked to
participate in this process by writing a brief essay in class or your instructor might submit
one or more of your examinations for review by other members of the department. All
assessment activities are conducted on an anonymous basis and any evaluations will be
kept in strict confidence. When you are asked to participate in this process please do your
best. Direct any questions regarding assessment to your instructor or the department
chairperson.
Student Learning Objectives - Upper-Level
Courses
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Demonstrate a significant degree of knowledge about both United States and
World history through completion of a broad selection of courses in history.
Ask appropriate historical questions that demonstrate an understanding of the
discipline of history and distinguish it from those of other disciplines.
Distinguish between primary sources and secondary sources used in the writing
of history and know how to use and analyze each appropriately. Students will
thus be able to:
a. Analyze a primary source as a product of a particular historical context;
b. Respond critically to a secondary source, taking into account the
primary sources used by the historian, the historian's methodology, the
logic of the argument, and other major interpretations in the field.
Present historical analysis and arguments in a clear written form, including the
ability to construct an argument by marshalling evidence in an appropriate and
logical fashion.
Write a research paper that asks a significant historical question, answers it with
a clear thesis and a logical argument, supports it with both primary and
secondary sources documented according to the standards of the Chicago
Manual of Style, and is written in clear and artful prose with the grammar and
spelling associated with formal composition.
Cheating and Plagiarism
Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses and will be treated as such. ("Plagiarism"
means "to adopt and reproduce as one's own, to appropriate to one's use, and incorporate
in one's own work without acknowledgment the ideas of others or passages from their
writings and works." See Section VI, Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and
Behavior, Student Handbook, p. 39. Copying directly from the textbook or an
encyclopedia article without quotation marks or an identifying citation, for example,
constitutes plagiarism.) Anyone who engages in such activities will receive no credit for
that assignment and may in addition be turned over to the Academic Integrity and
Grievance Committee for University disciplinary action, which may include separation
from the University.
See http://www.ualr.edu/copyright/ for more information.
Copyright Notice
Syllabus copyright © Shana Worthen, 2010, with the exception of participation
guidelines, which are copyright Julie Hofmann, 2006, with some revisions.