LBST 530:
PORTRAITS OF LEADERSHIP:
EXAMPLES FROM THE RENAISSANCE
Spring 2009 Professor Knoll
Thursdays 6:00 p.m.—8:40 p.m.
THH 205
By a combination of lecture, discussion, and writing assignments, this course treats several forms of cultural leadership in the European Renaissance of the 14th through early 16th centuries. The prerequisite for this course is LBST 500; in addition, students will find having a general familiarity with the western tradition to be useful. The intent of the course is to examine these forms both in general terms and with reference to specific individuals who may be taken as representative of each category.
TEXTS TO BE READ AND DISCUSSED
The following textbooks are required and have been ordered through the University
Bookstore for the course:
Alison Brown, The Renaissance (Longman)
Two Memoirs of Renaissance Florence. The Diaries of Buonaccorso Pitti and
GregorioDati, edited by Gene Brucker (Waveland Press)
The Earthly Republic. Italian Humanists on Government and Society, edited by
Benjamin Kohl and Ronald Witt (University of Pennsylvania Press)
Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, translated and edited by Robert M. Adams
(Norton: A Norton Critical Edition)
Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Artists (Penguin).
An additional required source has been placed on reserve in Leavey Library under
my name for LBST 530:
Memoirs of a Renaissance Pope. The Commentaries of Pius II, an abridgement,
translated by Florence Gragg, edited by Leona Gabel (Capricorn Books)
For those who would like more background on this period, the following items are recommended:
Kenneth R. Bartlett, The Civilization of the Italian Renaissance (D.C. Heath).
Margaret L. King, The Renaissance in Europe (McGraw Hill)
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Regular class attendance with the assignments done by the dates indicated below is assumed for full credit in the class, along withappropriate participation in class discussion. In addition, there are three other kinds of requirements. First, during the semester, each student will be asked to lead the evening’s discussion on the reading assigned for that date. Second, each student will write two short analytical papers based in the primary sources we are discussing; these should be about 5 pages long and deal with the issue of cultural leadership as reflected in the author of this source material. Due dates will be announced early in the semester. Third, all students will write a longer paper (about 12 to 15 pages) dealing with an individual or topic of their choice that has not been treated in the course. This paper will draw upon some of the research skills derived from LBST 500. In the last weeks of the semester students will make oral presentations on their paper in class, leading an appropriate discussion on the topic of their paper. Final versions of the paper will be due at the end of the semester. I will consult with students in all instances on choices of topic for these papers. Electronic submission of papers is not accepted.
SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASSES
Thursday 15 January
Introduction to the Class and the Period
Thursday 22 January
The Problem of the Renaissance
Assignment:Brown, Parts One and Two
Thursday 29 January
The Business Man
Assignment:Pitti and Dati’s Memoirs
Thursday 5 February
The Humanist: First Generation
Assignment: Brown, Part Three
Earthly Republic, pp. 1-118
Thursday 12 February
The Humanist: The Quattrocento
Assignment:Brown, Parts Four and Five
Earthly Republic, pp. 121-322.
Thursday 19 February
Philosophy in the Renaissance: Philosopher Kings—Pico and Ficino
Assignment:Pico, Oration on the Dignity of Man
Ficino, Commentary on Plato’s Symposium
[NOTE: these materials will be made available in Xeroxed
handouts]
Thursday 26 February
Renaissance Politics: Machiavelli I
Assignment:Machiavelli, The Prince, pp. 1-72
Thursday 5 March
Renaissance Politics: Machiavelli II
Assignment:Machiavelli, The Prince, pp. 75-135, plus any two modern
interpretations from this edition, pp. 139-249.
Thursday 12 March
The Church in the Renaissance: Avignon, Schism, and Restoration
Assignment: Xeroxed handouts distributed on 3 March
Thursday 19 March
No Class Session; Spring Recess
Thursday 26 March
The Church in the Renaissance: The Papacy—Pius II
Assignment:Memoirs of a Renaissance Pope
Thursday 2 April
The Artist: From Giotto to the Quattrocento
Assignment:Vasari, Lives of the Artists (selections)
Thursday 9 April
The Artist: The High Renaissance. From Artisan to Genius
Assignment:Vasari, Lives of the Artists (Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo)
Thursday 16 April
Individual Presentations
Thursday 23 April
Individual Presentations
Thursday 30 April
Last Class Session
Individual Presentations
Tuesday 5 May
FINAL PAPER DUE (details of submission to be announced).
Grades
Grades for the course will be based on:
-Discussion Leadership=20%
-Short Written Assignments, @ 10%=20%
-Oral Presentation and Discussion of paper=20%
-Final Paper=40%
TOTAL= 100%
A BLUNT STATEMENT ABOUT ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Both Faculty and Students at USC are expected to adhere to the standards of academic integrity as defined in university policy in the Faculty Handbook and in SCampus. An academically dishonest act violates the community of trust upon which the pursuit of learning and truth is based. A violation of academic integrity, including but not limited to all kinds of plagiarism, will result in sanctions, including either a lowered grade for an assignment or for the course; or a failure for the assignment or for the course; or—in particularly flagrant instances—academic sanctions up to and including expulsion. Please note: by university policy, faculty are required to report all instances of academic integrity violations. Students may access the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00 of SCampus, with the recommended sanctions located in Appendix A: The Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards carries on review of instances where academic integrity is alleged to have been violated. That review process can be found at:
Students with Disabilities
Any student requesting academic accommodation based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.—5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.
Office and Office Hours
Professor Knoll has an office in The Liberal Studies Program Office complex in THH 355 with time scheduled for Office Hours immediately before and after each class session and at other times by appointment. You should consult with him on all matters relating to the course and the topic. His E-mail address is Written messages may be left for him in the History Department Office, SOS 153, or the Liberal Studies Program Office, THH 355,which are open from about 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. The telephone number of the History Department is (213) 740-1657; that of the Liberal Studies Program, (213) 740-1349.
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