Portraits of Power: Machiavelli and Ideologies of the Renaissance Italian State
ITAL 232
Spring 2013
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01
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What did the face of power look like in Renaissance Italy? Who wore it and how did they come by it? What did it reveal or hide? Politics is a forum where truth is often subjected to power and power often mingles with lies. Machiavelli was the mastermind of Renaissance Italy's political game, the great spokesperson for "power as perception." We learn from him that politics is, among other things, an arena of and for appearances, the place for fashioning identities and for controlling the fashions that condition, and thereby predetermine, popular tastes and attitudes. This course takes as its subject the portrait of power as it was crafted by Machiavelli and his contemporaries, writers, painters, and sculptors alike. We seek to situate the very representations of authority, taste, and style that characterized culture in Renaissance Italy and, eventually, Renaissance Europe. As precursors, contrasts, and comparisons to Machiavelli's writing, we will examine the portraits of the powerful by such painters as Piero della Francesca (1420-92), Mantegna (1431-1506), Giovanni Bellini (1438-1516), Botticelli (1445-1510), Titian (1490-1576), and Bronzino (1503-72) and sculptors like Michelangelo (1475-1564). Taught in Italian, this course allows students to conduct careful, detailed readings of Machiavelli's work in its originary social, historical, and linguistic contexts. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: ITAL221 |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (ITST)(MDST)(MDST-Art/Arch)(MDST-History)(MDST-Lang/Lit)(MDST-Phil/Reli)(RMST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
THE PRINCE
THE DISCOURSES
THE FLORENTINE HISTORY
MANDRAGOLA
COURSE READER
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Examinations and Assignments:
Three essays during the course of the semester, at least one in-class presentation, and one oral final exam to be held during the exam period. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
PROF. NERENBERG IS LISTED AS THE INSTRUCTOR FOR PURPOSES OF REGISTRATION ONLY.
THIS COURSE IS INTENDED PRIMARILY FOR THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS: those who have a) completed the 221-222 sequence; b) who have studied in Italy (for one or two semesters); c) whose experience with Italian is very recent (i.e., took a course numbered above 221 in Fall 2012 or studied in Italy during that time). This course may be suitable for students who have not completed a course at the 221-222 level but whose placement exam suggested they should take courses numbered above 221. In the event that a student with advanced reading, writing, and speaking abilities in Italian has not yet completed a course at the 221-222 level, s/he will be asked to conduct a brief oral interview with the professor during registration or during drop/add. In the event that the student does not meet the prerequisites AND the professor has any doubts as to placement,the student will be asked to engage in a brief oral interview to help determine placement. |
| Instructor(s): Leisawitz,Daniel Abram Times: .M.W... 02:40PM-04:00PM; Location: FISK305; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 18 | | SR major: 4 | JR major: 4 | | |
| Seats Available: 9 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 4 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 1 | FR: 1 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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