HI 303 Renaissance History(WI)

Arts & Letters-History. Intermediate Writing. This course examines the Renaissance (approximately 1350 to 1620) thematically as we study together this tumultuous time of great art; new ideas; lively mercantile piazze, busy merchants and traders, bloody vendettas; "exotic" foods and material goods from distant places, and the encounters that took place between people in the East and the West. We will consider the religious turmoil of the age, the effects of plague, political upheaval, and warfare on people's daily lives, and take some time to think about love, marriage, family, and sex, coming to understand the Renaissance as a time of ordinary and extraordinary people whose lived experiences shaped the age. Although the focus is on the Italian Renaissance, with the help of William Shakespeare and others, we will explore the spread of the Renaissance beyond Italy to other parts of Europe, and east across the Mediterranean for a look at the histories that occurred simultaneously with, and were connected to, the world of the western Renaissance. Students enrolled in this course at the 300-level will have the following additional requirements: a research project that is both a written paper and a presentation to the class, in which they will, using appropriate primary and secondary sources, develop a new interpretation of some aspect of the Renaissance. In addition, 300-level students will have one additional text to read, will be required to attend six sessions during which we will discuss the additional reading, progress on the research paper, and peer review drafts of one another's work. HI 303 students will also serve as leaders during regular class discussion. Those without previous a history course, or a 4 or 5 on an AP History exam, are encouraged to enroll in the cross-listed HI 206 course. Students may not get credit for one course if they have taken the other.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

Must have completed freshman year. Take CORE-110 or HNR-150. Take 1 OC, oral communications course.

Corequisite

Take TH-101 previously or concurrently.

Distribution

CL,HIS,IW,W

Offered

Odd Year Fall Semester