ML 186 - Italian Culture and Civilization I – From pre-history to the Renaissance
M/F 12:40-2:10 Art 004
Professor Costanza Gislon Dopfel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Modern Languages, Department of Art History
Office hours: M/W/F 10:20-11:20 and by appointment
Office: Dante 318
Class Grade:
20% Final Exam
15% Midterm Exam
40% Paper
25% Attendance, Participation and Presentations
Course Description:
This course will look at Italian civilization through its artistic and literary expressions. Each period will be examined through the lens of multiple works of art: sculpture, architecture, painting, literature and music. Each week there is a featured work of art that will be carefully examined and discussed in class. Since the history of Italy is extremely rich and complex, this course – Italian Civilization Part 1 – will cover the period from the foundation of Rome to the end of the Renaissance. The subsequent period, from the Renaissance to the present, will be covered in a second course – Italian Civilization Part 2.
Course Goals:
To interpret and critique works of Italian literature, music and art within their specific historical context; to analyze and discuss images, objects, words and sounds using appropriate vocabulary; to understand the varied aspects of Italian civilization; to understand the development of art and literature as living and ever-changing expressions of a society; to connect different periods while identifying their differences; to recognize artwork and gain knowledge of its genesis.
Course outcomes:
Students will learn how to examine works of art in an accurate and observant way, allowing for a deeper, more accurate reading (CC 1a and 1b); they will be able to think of the Italian artistic heritage in an organized, informed and organic way (CC 1b); to understand and identify different periods and styles, while connecting them to key historical and social events(CC 1d); to develop or refine their understanding and analysis of artwork and literature and bring them together as connected cultural expressions(CC 1c); to discuss and write about artistic expression using appropriate vocabulary and methodology(CC 1c).
Classroom Policy and Procedure
Attendance and participation are necessary in this course. Come prepared to listen, respond and be involved in class activities. After three absences, each absence will result in one point being deducted from the total percentage points at the end of the semester. There is no distinction between excused and unexcused absences. Repeated tardiness is not acceptable. No eating in class unless it is social eating.
Textbooks:
George Holmes, The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy, Oxford University Press - H
Marilyn Bradshaw, Italian Renaissance Art, Pearson/Prentice Hall- A
Readings: All readings are online through E-reserves
Honor Code: This course follows all rules and practices of Saint Mary’s College Honor Code. Students will be required to submit their papers through Turnitin.
Students with disabilities:
Reasonable and appropriate accommodations, that take into account the context of the course and its essential elements, for individuals with qualifying disabilities, are extended through the office of Student Disability Services. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services Coordinator at (925) 631-4164 to set up a confidential appointment to discuss accommodation guidelines and available services. Additional information regarding the services available may be found at the following address on the Saint May’s website: http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/academics/academic-advising-and-achievement/student-disability-services.html
Week 1 - Introduction – H pp.1-26
Mon, 2/8 Before Rome – Celts, Etruscans, Sabines
Fri 2/12 Early and Republican Rome
Featured art: The statue of the She-Wolf
Reading: Virgil’s Aeneid
Week 2 – Rise and fall of Rome – H pp 27-56
Mon 2/15 The Roman Empire –The Fall of Rome
Fri 2/19 Barbarians, the early Middle Ages and the feudal system
Featured art: The arches of Titus and of Constantine
Reading: Ovid and Catullus
Week 3 - The Urban redevelopment: Duecento – A pp.1-33; H pp 57-62
Mon 2/22 Monks, Popes and Friars –
Fri 2/26 Courtly Love and the Scuola Siciliana
Featured art: The frescoes of the Good and Bad Governments
Reading: San Francesco’s prayers
Selected Courtly Love poems
Week 4- Power struggle in Florence: Duecento and Trecento – A pp.33-68; H pp 62-67
Mon 3/1 Duecento art
Featured art: Simone Martini’s Annunciation
Fri 3/5 La Divina Commedia
Week 5 - Trecento – H pp 86-93
Mon 3/8 Petrarch and Boccaccio
Fri 3/12 Giotto, Simone Martini and Lorenzetti
Featured art: Giotto’s Deposition
Reading: Petrarch, selected poems
Boccaccio: The Decameron
Week 6 The Early Renaissance : Quattrocento – A pp. 69-146; H pp 68-76
Mon 3/15 Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello
Featured art: Donatello’s two Davids
WED 3/17 12:40-2:10 MIDTERM
Fri 3/19 Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Paolo Uccello,
Featured art: Beato Angelico’s Annunciation
Week 7 The Middle Quattrocento: A pp. 147-178
Mon 3/22 Alberti, Piero della Francesca, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio
Featured art: Primavera
Fri 3/26 PRESENTATIONS
Reading: Edgar Wind, Pagan Mysteries of the Renaissance
Week 8 Mon 3/29-4/5 Easter recess
Week 9 – The Medici – A pp. 287-302; H pp 93-112
Fri 4/9 Film: The Medici godfathers of the Renaissance
PRESENTATIONS
Week 10 – The end of the quattrocento - A pp. 183-204 and 303-308; H pp 76-85
RESEARCH PAPER FIRST DRAFT DUE
Mon 4/12 Andrea Mantegna and Mantova, Perugino and Rome
Fri 4/16 Bellini, Carpaccio and Venice
Featured art: Mantegna’s Dead Christ
Reading: Ludovico Ariosto – Orlando Furioso
Week 11 – The Cinquecento – A pp. 207-252
Mon 4/19 Leonardo da Vinci and Raffaello
Fri 4/23 Michelangelo
Featured art: The Sistine Chapel
Reading: Machiavelli, The Prince
Week 12 - The end of the Renaissance- A pp. 253- 280; H pp 113-138
Mon 4/26 – Pontormo and Bronzino
Fri 4/30 – Giorgione , Titian and Cellini
Featured art: Bronzino’s Allegory of Love
Reading: Castiglione, The Courtier
Week 13 – RESEARCH PAPER FINAL DRAFT DUE
Mon 5/3 From Renaissance to Mannerism– H pp 139-176
Fri 5/7 Review
Week 14 -
Mon 5/10 - FINAL
Guidelines for writing your research paper (10-12 pages)
1) Choose a book, film, painting or artifact from the period we cover during this course. Look for something you find interesting, something that can hold your attention and makes you want to find out more.
2) Begin your research. Find out about the context of the work, why was it produced, by whom and for whom. Although some of the background information can be used as a backdrop for your research, this is not the basis for your paper, it is just the information upon which you can start building your own interpretation.
3) Now that you can situate the work in a social and historical context, start looking at it carefully and try to develop the purpose of your paper. Ask yourself questions without relying on readily available answers: What does the work convey as its apparent message? Are there other layers of reading and interpretation? How does it fit with what was expected of similar artifacts?
4) DO NOT COPY OR RELY ON AVAILABLE INTERPRETATIONS, DEVELOP YOUR OWN. Plagiarism will be harshly dealt with, so be extremely careful about citing all sources.
5) DO NOT USE ONLINE SOURCES, except for obtaining images. Learn how to research on books
6) Set up the purpose of your paper. What are you going to discuss? What are you trying to prove? What is the message that the artifact delivers, according to your own reading of the work?
7) Now you can use your research to find out if your interpretation fits within the general and current approach, or if it counters it. You can support your thesis not just on your personal reading of the artifact itself and its historical and social context, but also using current interpretations. Find out if there are conflicting views, and state your position.
8) Finished papers must be at least 8 pages long and must contain:
1) Title, name, date
2) Text, double-spaced
3) Footnotes
4) Bibliography
5) List of illustrations, with printed copies of the work(s), labeled including location, artist and date