LAPI 834 - Age of the Medici: 1375 - 1500

This course is a study of Florence in the Renaissance in the context of other Italian city-states and covers the period from the republican regime at the end of the fourteenth century to the Medici’s total assumption of power with a ducal title (1375 - 1532). The course examines the pursuit of humanistic studies by a large part of citizenry that sustained the republican ideology of that society; Florence political and societal evolution from a republic to an autocratic regime; the flourishing arts and sciences, particularly under the first dynasty of the Medici. It also investigates the reasons why, despite the erosion of political freedom, intellectual and artistic creativity enjoyed one of the most brilliant seasons in human history. In conclusion, the study of Florence’s political evolution in the Renaissance leads to consideration on the fragility of free government and civil liberties in the present world. In our investigation we make use of primary sources and modern scholarship.

Prerequisites & Notes
Prerequisites: LACR 102

Credits: 3 cr, 3 hrs