History

The Department of History examines a wide range of topics related to specific periods of time, notable figures, events, subpopulations, and civilization in ancient, medieval, Renaissance, modern, and recent eras.

3 semester credits. Galileo Galilei was one of the founding fathers of the modern scientific world who lived and worked for the larger portion of his life in Florence under the protection of the ruling Medici family. His life and works are a landmark in the history of science. What did he do and why is it so important? This course is designed to introduce the students to the intellectual ferment of the Renaissance, which produced the revolutionary figure of Galileo. Both the works of Galileo and his contemporaries will be examined. Visits to scientific museums and institutions in Florence form an integral part of this course.

3 semester credits. This course explores the meaning of the term "Renaissance" when applied to the period of Italian history from circa 1350 to 1550. The subject will be approached from a variety of standpoints: social, political, economic, intellectual, scientific, and artistic. The focus will be on the concept of Italian Renaissance Humanism and on the relationship between art and society during this period. Lectures will be supplemented by a number of visits to key historical sites in Florence. Field activities and museum visits are an integral part of the course.

3 semester credits. This course traces the rich and varied history of the Medici family, whose name has become almost synonymous with the history of Renaissance Florence itself. Beginning with the rise of the Medici bank under the astute and mindful Cosimo the Elder in the early fifteenth century, and concluding with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici and the opulent luxuries of his princely palace in 1737, this course examines the Medici as bankers, statesmen, patrons of the arts, entrepreneurs and, ultimately, as absolute rulers of the state of Tuscany. The role of the family's female counterparts will also be examined, especially in relation to their dynastic marriages that linked the Medici to leading European political powers. Visits to key Medici historic sites (palaces and villas) are an essential component of the course.

3 semester credits. Beginning with an examination of the “how to” advice manuals common to Italian households during the Renaissance period, this course explores various aspects of sexuality in Renaissance Italy. These aspects range from the aforementioned self-help books aimed at instructing young couples in sexual pleasure, to conception and childbirth, and an examination of the differing social roles of the common prostitute (meretrice) and the high-class courtesan (cortigiana). The theme of male homosexuality will also be explored with special focus placed on the intellectual climate of Renaissance Florence where the prevailing interest in Neoplatonic philosophy may have played a part in creating a more lenient moral climate for homosexuals. Discussions will take cue from Renaissance art in which erotic subjects became increasingly popular in courtly circles in the sixteenth century. Exploratory visits form an integral part of this course.

3 semester credits. This course guides the student through the rise of society in Ancient Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages, and the European Renaissance. This span of European history is examined from many viewpoints including the intellectual, scientific, cultural, economic, political, and social. This course includes museum visits.

3 semester credits. This course addresses significant moments in the timeline of Italian fashion from its historic origins to the present day. While exploring the art and business of Italian fashion design, students will encounter influential individuals, style and industry-changing happenings, and the places that hosted them. Designers and creative figures, industry players and companies, hallmark fashion shows, and significant Italian locations are amongst the case studies covered. Field visits and guest lectures are an essential component of this course.

3 semester credits. History has demonstrated that saints would not have existed without sinners and vice versa. The course will examine the encounters and interrelationships between “saints” and “sinners” over the course of Italian history. In many cases, the Saint was also a former Sinner but rarely the other way around. The great Saint Augustine, for example, is a testament to former sinners as seen in his famous Confessions in which his vivid, at times red-light experiences as a young man are described and redeemed by a saintly life. The texts, at times, almost hint at a subtle vein of regret and faint whiffs of nostalgia for the “dolce vita” of Augstine’s past. The same can be said of Saint Francis, who was known for conducting a dissipated, playboy-oriented lifestyle in Assisi conveniently financed by his rich father Bernardone. In other cases, history has documented epic clashes between sinners and saints-to-be. Between the dying Lorenzo il Magnifico and the future saint Savonarola, for example, in which the latter refused to absolve the former who had refused to confess his sins. Saint Bellarmine, Galileo’s inquisitor, condemned the scientist for demonstrating the error of the Sacred Scripture regarding the geocentrism, demonstrating yet again a saint’s victory. Another topic that will be examined by the course is the posthumous redemption of sinners such as the Giuseppe Verdi’s Lady of the Camellias in La Traviata and the lovers Paolo and Francesca in Dante’s Divina Commedia.