Europe

This course traces the development of European thought and culture from the early Italian Renaissance to the beginnings of the Scientific Revolution. We will explore not only such high cultural elements as philosophy and science but also the development of popular literature, the impact of print, and the reception of religious ideas by ordinary Europeans. Among the topics to be considered are the Italian and northern "renaissances," the development of Reformation thought, the use of vernacular languages, and the theory and practice of science.

Prof. Cotts, 4 credits, TTh 10-11:30am

-Fulfills Social Science, Textual Analysis, and/or Studying the Past distribution.

-History major: premodern history; Cultures & Ideas; Before Modernity

Europe's Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals are not simply important architectural achievements but the products of a complex nexus of intellectual and social developments during the High Middle Ages. This course explores the intellectual history of the period that produced these buildings, including "high culture" (philosophy, theology, and science), as well as vernacular literature and oral traditions. Broader cultural issues such as the rise of literacy, the development of lay piety and heretical religious movements, and the origins of universities will also be considered. Readings will include the thought of such philosophers as Anselm and Thomas Aquinas, as well as examples of Arthurian romance, Norse sagas and literary monuments like Dante's Divine Comedy.

Prof. Cotts, 4 credits, TTh 10-11:20am

-Fulfills Social Science, Textual Analysis, and/or Studying the Past distribution.

-History major: pre-modern; Cultures & Ideas; Before Modernity