Florence Cathedral

Florence, Italy

This course offers a survey of the literature of the Italian Renaissance and a study of the contribution in the fields of literature, art, politics, and philosophy by such writers, artists and thinkers as Boccaccio, Petrarch, Alberti, Pico, Valla, Leonardo, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Colonna, Stampa, Castiglione, Cellini and Vasari.

Program Details

Program Info Description
Location Florence, Italy
Credits Offered ITAL 28000 - 3 CREDITS (CUNY tuition is not included in program fee)
Financial Aid PELL, Student Loans
Scholarships S&W Education Abroad Scholarship
Program Fee $1,225 (estimate) includes housing with breakfast, cultural events and international health insurance. Airfare not included.
Textbooks 1) The Italian Renaissance Reader. Edited by Julia C. Bondanella and Mark Musa. New York: Penguin Meridian, 1987.
2) Course reader prepared by the instructor.

Grading Policy

Students in this program will receive both credits and letter grades. Grades will count towards their Hunter GPA.

  1. Mid-term exam (essay questions): 40%
  2. Final exam (essay questions): 40%
  3. Active participation (lectures and guided tours): 20%

Syllabus

Day Topic
Day 1 INTRODUCTION. History and historiography of the Italian Renaissance.
Day 2 Petrarch and the birth of Humanism.
Day 3 Boccaccio.
Day 4 Boccaccio. Early masters in Italian art: Giotto, Simone Martini.
Day 5 Latin and Italian Humanism. Salutati. Alberti. Art from Masaccio to Brunelleschi.
Day 6 Valla. Pico della Mirandola. Women Humanists and their male colleagues.
Day 7 Machiavelli.
Day 8 Guicciardini. MID-TERM EXAM
Day 9 Leonardo: writer, 'proto-scientist' and artist
Day 10 Bembo and Castiglione: on rules and behavior
Day 11 Michelangelo, the artist and his poetry
Day 12 Petrarchism and women writers: V. Colonna, V. Franco, G. Stampa, I. Di Morra
Day 13 Benvenuto Cellini. Giorgio Vasari and the canonization of the Renaissance
Day 14 Ariosto and the "Culture of Contradiction"