Syllabus
Great Minds of the Renaissance
FOST 3060
Laura Coffin Koch ()
Florence, Italy
May 15, 2012 – June9, 2012
Introduction: Did you ever wonder what Galileo found so fascinating about the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the study of mathematics and science? Have you thought about how the beautiful domed churches and capitol buildings were constructed without the use of cranes and modern construction equipment? Or, have you ever been awed about the stories surrounding Michelangelo and his statue of David or his painting of ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican?
Mathematics isn’t just numbers, figures, and theorems but useful tools to help us understand and represent the world, predict outcomes, design buildings, solve crimes, etc. During the Renaissance, famous sculptors, artists, and painters used mathematics to depict history and religion. Others used their talents to honor those in power. It was also during this time frame that scientists were beginning to develop a deeper understanding of the world around them. This time period was exciting not only because of its great artistic masterpieces but also the clash of culture, politics, religion, art, and science
In this seminar, we will learn about how the Great Minds of the Renaissance used ideas from mathematics, art, architecture, science, and literature to bring about one of the most transformative eras in history. We will do this through readings, site visits, class discussions and finally, the trial of Galileo.
We begin our study with Leonard of Pisa to understand the culture of Italy and the state of mathematics just before the Renaissance. Many of you may remember Leonard of Pisa under a different name, Fibonacci.
Although Fibonacci was from Pisa, there is not much there to memorialize him or his great works. However, another Great Mind, Galileo, spent a great deal of time in Pisa and in our visit to Pisa and retrace his steps as we ascend the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In class, we’ll discuss Galileo and his contributions to mathematics and science and how, through his lifetime, his changing views of the world caused him to come into conflict with his benefactor and the church. We’ll look closely at Galileo and his confrontations with the Catholic Church as we re-enact history through “The Trial of Galileo.”
In Florence, we will visit the Duomo and learn about the construction of the dome, its architect, Filippo Brunelleschi, and the issues he faced during the construction of the dome. We’ll tour art galleries, the Uffizi, the Academia del Arte and discuss the convergence of mathematics and art during the Renaissance. We’ll read about Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, and what made them arguably two of the greatest artists the world has known. We’ll study about their scientific contributions and their conflicts.
We’ll travel to Rome to investigate the architectural marvels of St. Peter’s and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Through all of this, we will come to know and appreciate how these five Great Minds changed the world during the Renaissance and impacted how we now think about the world.
Course Objectives:
The Great Minds of the Renaissance course focuses on the development of scientific thought and the great minds behind those ideas; it also delves into the intersection of scientific ideas with society, culture, religion, politics, etc. In doing so, it also covers a wide range of general or liberal education objectives. When writing your daily reflections and your final reflection paper, please refer to these outcomes.
University of Minnesota Student Learning Outcomes
Can locate and critically evaluate information: Throughout the course and, more specifically in the Trial of Galileo, students will need to marshal evidence and logic to advance their“own” position and undermine the arguments of their critics. During class presentations, debates,feedback from peers isinstantaneous and emphatic. By demonstrating the power of incomplete or evenfallacious arguments, students learn that all arguments are subject to revision.
Can communicate effectively: In all aspects of the course, students will advance their positions and ideas through writings, presentations, and in class discussion. In addition to faculty evaluation of student work, students will also benefit from the response of other students. Galileo papers will be made available to others in the class. For example, students who support Galileo willscrutinize the papers of the conservatives, citing errors of evidence and logic; theconservatives will similarly point up the shortcomings in Galileo’s arguments. Studentssimilarly hone their speaking skills by providing set-piece speeches as well asspontaneous debates.
Can identify, define, and solve problems: Students will be confronted with multifaceted problems: intellectual (advancing their set of ideas,many of which are problematic); political (mobilizing other groups to join with them onparticular votes); textual (mastering multiple texts and disciplines to make theirarguments persuasive); and social (ensuring that the faction functions effectively,dividing tasks and yet ensuring that the different elements come together at the propertimes).
Understand diverse philosophies and cultures within and across societies: The Great Minds course teaches students that other cultures, civilizations,and ideological superstructures have merit which will be evidenced as we learn about the Renaissance. For example, when students are assigned to roles withinthe hierarchy of the Catholic Church, Jewish, and Protestant students learn to empathizewith the difficulties confronting Catholic theologians and bureaucrats during the Galileocontroversy. Debates may become heated—proof that people can doggedly adhere toeven prescribed identities. This helps students learn empathy.
Have acquired skills for effective citizenship and life-long learning: The course activities – facilitating a group, presentations, debates, living in apartments, navigating through a different culture and city, etc. not only teach the leadership, teamwork, andproblem-solving skills that are essential to civic engagement, but it also shows the centrality of issues of power and governance to nearly all aspects of life.
Have mastered a body of knowledge and a mode of inquiry: Students will need to demonstrate their understanding of the Renaissance; including why the Renaissance happened; the major “players” of the Renaissance; dates of specific events of the Renaissance; political, artistic, cultural, societal, economical and religious factors during the renaissance; and the ways in which the world was forever changed because of the Renaissance.
Understand the role of creativity, innovation, discovery, and expression across disciplines:Students are largely free to choose whatever form of written expression they wish. The purpose of written work is to help them present their ideas and arguments. Students may think it advantageous to write a legal indictment, a poem, a sermon, a newspaper article, a diary entry, or whatever else serves their purpose. A common form of expression will be an essay to rebut the arguments of your opponents. For many roles, students will find it wise to coordinate their work with others whose goals are similar to their own.
University of Minnesota Student Development Outcomes
Responsibility and Accountability by making appropriate decisions on behavior and accepting the consequences of their actions:Students will be faced with numerous challenges while in Italy. In many cases, actions and decisions students make will impact not only the individual students, but all the students in the class. It is the intent that this course will help students make appropriate decisions that will lead to positive outcomes.
Independence and Interdependence by knowing when to collaborate or seek help and when to act on their own: Throughout this course, students will be required to work together on various assignments, but there will also be times when individual work will be required. If there are questions regarding this, it is important to ask. Also, living in a different culture will require students to continually consider when they need to seek help or figure it out on their own.
Goal Orientation by managing their energy and attention to achieve specific outcomes:This course is an academic course, students will need to manage their time carefully in order to meet the academic requirements for successfully completing this course. At the same time, students will want to experience the life and culture of Italy. Balancing one’s time is a very important skill in a global seminar.
Self-awareness by knowing their personal strengths and talents and acknowledging their shortcomings: Living abroad is a wonderful opportunity to learn about oneself. As students learn about Italians of today and the historical figures of yesterday, it is an ideal time to consider the questions: “Who am I?” “How do/should I respond to a given situation?” “How could I have reacted differently?” “What would I have done?”
Resilience by recovering and learning from setbacks or disappointments: Living in another country is not always easy. There will be times when students become frustrated at the pace of living or the lack of personal space – this in natural. It is intended that students will be able to learn and grow from these and others setbacks that may occur during the course.
Appreciation of Differences by recognizing the value of interacting with individuals with backgrounds and/or perspectives different from their own:Throughout the time in Italy, students will encounter a myriad of differences in language, culture, customs, beliefs, etc. It is the intent of this course for students to understand and appreciate these differences.
Tolerance of Ambiguity by demonstrating the ability to perform in complicated environments where clear cut answers or standard operating procedures are absent:Students will need to explore counterfactual issues of individual agency. For example, would a different set of arguments have prevented Galileo from being convicted by the Inquisition? Students will be faced with defending positions which run counter to their own beliefs or facts they know from a 21st century perspective on science.
Additional objectives:
Quantitative Reasoning: Students are obliged to master (and explain) multiple examples of geometric proofs and to solve problems pertaining to the size, distance, and motion of planets and stars.
Leadership: The course provides numerous leadership opportunities both in the classroom and outside. Some will lead factions; others will hold offices that supervise different class session; some will emerge to advance radical alternatives; while others will organize site visits or weekend activities.
Details for Seminar:
Professor contact information:
While in Florence, we will be together for approximately 6-8 hours Monday through Friday. If you ever have any questions or want to talk with me individually, please let me know and we can find a time before or after class or during lunch. In addition, I will probably meet with each of you individually each week on the bus or train while we travel to Pisa, Rome, or Siena. My contact information at the University of Minnesota is:
Laura Coffin Koch
Associate Vice Provost
Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics
Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
University of Minnesota
234 Morrill Hall
100 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
E-mail:
Phone: 612-624-1085 Fax: 612-624-5824
Instructional strategies:
This class will meet in a seminar format. There will be numerous (daily) field trips in and outside of Florence. Approximately half the instructional time will be in the classroom and half exploring various museums and sites that provide valuable resources related to the great minds of the renaissance. This is a seminar and as such, it will be almost entirely discussion-based, with little lecturing. This means that students will need to be prepared to talk about the readings, make presentations, debate, and discuss the course material.
Class Participation:
This class is designed to provide an intellectual and interactive environment for students. Rather than lecturing, the professor serves as a facilitator for discussion. Therefore, it is important that students be prepared for each class by doing the readings, taking notes on the readings, and be willing to participate in the discussions. This will be especially important when we begin the Trial of Galileo.
Readings:
In order to get the most out of the class, it is necessary to do all of the assigned readings prior to class. All students are to read the first two chapters of Leonardo: the First Scientist, Brunelleschi’s Dome, The Trial of Galileo, and the Florence and Tuscany Guidebook. In addition, half the class will read the entire book, Leonardo: the First Scientist and the other half will read the book Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling. In a seminar format, the students reading the Leonardo book will discuss/present/teach the entire class about Leonardo. Likewise, the students reading the Michelangelo book will discuss/present/teach the entire class about Michelangelo. I strongly encourage all students to read both the Leonardo and Michelangelo books. I will assign each student to one of the two books.
Journals:
I require that you keep a journal of your course related experiences while in Florence, which includes a section for you to reflect upon your experiences. This should include the daily activities, your thoughts about what we see, read, discuss, and course information. Journals will be read and graded me. It is important that you complete these journals daily as this is a very fast-paced experience and it is easy to forget what you have experienced. Although you will be graded on your journal, the main purpose is for you to have a detailed memoir of this experience. The more effort you put into this on a daily basis, the better you off you will be when you try to explain to others what you did, what you saw, and what you experienced. In a few years, you will be glad have these reflections.
Classroom Activities:
Each day, students will be assigned to be the class facilitators. Facilitators will write at least five discussion questions based on the readings and lead the class discussion and/or figure out an appropriate route to the site visit that day. I will provide more detail on the sites when we arrive at the site. On the first day of class, students will sign up for the day of their choosing. You will be given a map of Florence by ACCENT.
Each class period will vary. Some days we will class quizzes, work in small groups, and/or watch videos. The one constant will be discussions – we’ll have lots of discussions. The videos will help integrate the material and provide some more depth in helping to us to understand the wonderful era known as the Italian Renaissance.
Midway through the program, we will begin to prepare for the Trial of Galileo. Most of these class sessions will be student run with students debating the issues. These will be very intense and require students to be well-prepared. All students will present arguments and defend their positions.
Assignments:
Readings: Prior to leaving for Florence, you will want and need to do as much of the reading as possible. First, several of the readings set the stage for what we will be studying. Second, the more reading you do before we leave, the more time you will have in Florence on your own. The course readings are significant. This is a typical 3 credit course in that regard – it wouldn’t be a problem over a 14 week time period, but it does seem to be a lot when the course is condensed into 3 weeks. In the past, the students have said that the one thing they would have done differently is to do most of the reading before the leaving for Italy. This is particularly important if you are not a fast reader. The books are very readable and are written to be informational and enjoyable.
If you only have time to read one book before we leave, I strongly urge you to read part of the “Trial of Galileo” book. The Appendices are the most important part of the book. We will deviate from the first part of the book.
Required readings before departure:
- White, Leonardo: The First Scientist: Chapters 1 and 2
- Go on line and find out who was Fibonacci. We will talk about Fibonacci on the first day of class as we set the stage for the Renaissance.
- Florence and Tuscany Guidebook, pp 6-57; 254-269; and 296-313
The purpose of these readings is to understand the history of scientific and mathematical thought in Italy and better understand the culture and history of Italy and Florence.
Initial Paper: Write a two page paper on the state of scientific knowledge at the time of the Renaissance. This paper can be written with what you find out about Fibonacci and chapters 1 and 2 of “Leonardo: The First Scientist.” Be sure to include any references you use for this paper, including web sites. This is due April 30, 2010. You can bring it to our second orientation class or email it to me at .
Second Paper: The second paper is a “voice” paper. I will assign you to be a Renaissance person. You will then write an “autobiography” of that person addressing the following questions: