Spring 2006

Instructor: Professor Christopher Carlsmith

Classroom: Coburn Hall 103. Tuesday & Thursday, 2:00-3:15 p.m.

Class Meetings: The first class is on Tuesday, Jan. 24; the final class meeting is on Tuesday, May 9^th. This class will not meet on Feb. 21, and of course we will not meet during spring vacation (March 13-17). An optional class field trip will be offered to the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum to view the Renaissance collection & special exhibition on Gentile Bellini, perhaps on Feb. 18-19. If there is sufficient student interest, I will organize a trip to the Boston MFA or to the Fogg Museum at Harvard Univ. to view their respective Renaissance collections. We will have a mixture of lecture and discussion on most days; when primary sources are assigned, discussion will be paramount. See the syllabus for more detailed assignments.

Office: Dept. of History, Coburn Hall 306. Tel: (978) 934-4277.

E-mail: Christopher_Carlsmith[at]uml.edu.

Office Hours: Tue and Thu, 11-12 and 3:30-5:00, and happily by appointment.

Texts: ▪ Jonathan Zophy, Renaissance and Reformation Europe, 2^nd/3^rd ed. (Prentice Hall, 1999/2003).

▪ Julia Bondanella and Mark Musa, Italian Renaissance Reader. (New Amer. Lib.)

▪ Denis Janz, A Reformation Reader. (Fortress Press, 1999).

These books are available for purchase at the UML South bookstore. You can also purchase them through Amazon.com or other stores. A copy of each book should be available on 2-hour Reserve at O’Leary Library. Note that Reserve materials cannot leave the Library.

Web site: Some course materials (including this course description) will be posted on the Web site: http://faculty.uml.edu/ccarlsmith/teaching/43.231.

Course Description: This course explores the intellectual, cultural, political, social, and economic developments in Western Europe ca. 1350-1650. This period marked a crucial transition between the medieval and modern worlds, marked by innovations that included three-point perspective, the printing press, secularism, the nation-state, and proto-capitalism. Such changes have long been understood for the socio-economic elites, but we will also consider the impact of these centuries upon the daily life of everyday people, particularly women and their role in family, politics, and religion. The first half of the course examines the Renaissance, beginning in Italy and later in the North. Then we will briefly consider the discovery of the New World before turning to a study of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations. A major goal of this course is to introduce you to the study of primary sources: thus we will read extensively in the original works of the men and women who lived through this age.

Assignments:

Attendance/Participation 10% 50 pts.

3 map quizzes/2 homeworks 10% 50 pts.

Midterm exam 20% 100 pts.

Essay 1 (Renaissance) 20% 100 pts.

Essay 2 (Reformation) 20% 100 pts.

Final Exam/Final Project 20% 100 pts.

• Map Quizzes/Homework: I will provide you with a blank map and a list of terms that you must know for Contemporary Europe, Italy, and Northern Europe. The homework assignments are likely to be a pair of brief (one-page) essays, responding to something we have read or discussed in class.

• Midterm: A midterm exam will be given in late March. The midterm will include map terms, multiple choice questions, several IDs, and perhaps a short essay.

• Essays: The essays will be 5-6 pages each in length. The first essay, due prior to the midterm, will ask you to respond to one of the works by Boccacio, Castiglione, or Cellini (all avail. in Bondanella). You will be expected to summarize the source, and to analyze it in the context of what you have learned about the Renaissance in the course. For example: Why is this work important? What does it reveal about the themes of the Renaissance? What problems does it present? How is it unique or special?

The second essay will focus on a topic dealing with the Reformation. For this essay you will select a primary source from one of the Reformations (Protestant, English, Catholic, Radical, etc), and offer an analysis/summary similar to the first essay. You can pursue similar questions to those above, or you can pose new ones appropriate to the source.

• Final Exam/Final Project: A final examination will be given at the conclusion of the course. The format will be similar to that of the midterm exam. The essays on the final exam will cover all of the material in the course. Essay questions will be distributed in advance. The Registrar will announce the date/location of the final exam midway through the semester. Except in the case of a documented emergency, the exam may not be taken early.

An alternative to the Final Exam is the Final Project. Students who select this option must be prepared to research, write, and present a scholarly paper in public. All students are eligible, and indeed encouraged, to consider the Final Project. However, each topic must be approved well in advance by the professor. Several venues are available to present research: (1) Annual UML Student Research Symposium on April 25; (2) Italian Renaissance History/Art History Symposium, date TBA ; (3)) UML Gender Studies Symposium on April 10; (4) History Club Student Conference, date TBA. You will be expected to present a synopsis of your research, utilizing some kind of visual aids (poster, Powerpoint, web page, slides). The topic may be a revised version of a class essay, or it may be an independent topic of your own interest. Each presentation will require an abstract to be submitted one month in advance.

You are expected to be present, to be prepared, and to participate in class activities. If you must miss a class, please try to inform me in advance. I understand that illness or other obligations may force you to miss a class unexpectedly; please note that missing class does not excuse you from completing your assignment(s). Participation is particularly important for the Friday discussions. Students who miss more than seven (7) classes risk course failure.

▪ Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course. If you are ever in any doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism or other potential offenses, please consult with the professor or read about “Academic Standards, Cheating, and Plagiarism” at http://www.uml.edu/admin/registrar/academicrules/academicdishonestycheatingandplagiarism.htm . The basic rule of thumb is this: if you use words or ideas that someone else wrote, then you have to give credit to that person, either by quoting directly or by using a footnote. This rule applies whether the information came from the Web, the Library, a textbook, or another person. Students guilty of plagiarism will receive an ‘F’ on that assignment, and will be required to resubmit a substitute assignment.

▪ Make-ups are not offered for the midterm or the final exam; students may, in consultation with the instructor, rewrite essays. Map quizzes may be retaken once without penalty.

▪ Field Trips: You are encouraged to visit the Renaissance collections of local museums. The History Dept. will usually cover the cost of such trips if you attend with our class. Students who visit a museum and write a short paper (2-3 pp.) analyzing one of the Renaissance/Reformation works of art within the museum may receive ten points extra credit.

▪ Late assignments will be penalized by two points per day. As per above, missing class does not excuse you from completing the assignment.

• Students with a documented disability are encouraged to contact the professor immediately so that suitable arrangments can be made. I am happy to accommodate all students who require special consideration, but such requests must be made in advance, not after the fact.