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CS92PROD
The Courtier and the Courtesan in Renaissance Italy
ITAL 239
Spring 2009
Section: 01  

This course aims at analyzing the process of creation of the male courtier through the close reading of Baldassarre Castiglione's IL CORTEGIANO, which was by far one of the bestselling books in the Western world up to the 1600s. Courtly culture was developed and formalized at the highest levels in Renaissance Italy in the late 15th and early 16th centuries to become a model for all Europe in subsequent centuries. On the other hand, the figure of the female courtesan, poet and whore, literata and entertainer, grew to be a fascinating and repulsive subject of many dialogic and dramatic treatments, especially by the powerful "pen-prince" Pietro Aretino. The interaction of style and culture that courtier and courtesan are two characters, at once idealized and all too real, played with each other will be studied with the aid of contemporary paintings and prints (from high-brow to popular, early erotic productions).

Essential Capabilities: None
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA RLAN
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (ITST)(RMST)
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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