The course will study Italian culture from the perspective of social and historical forces, as articulated by a broad variety of cultural, ideological, and institutional discourses.

What is the Renaissance? What were its centers and peripheries? Is the Renaissance still relevant for us today? Is the Renaissance simply the age of the ‘great masters’ or did it have a dark side? How did Renaissance cities deal with apparently modern phenomena such as migration, racism, colonialism, slavery, and global capitalism? We will answer these and other questions by studying the Renaissance from three cultural hubs such as Florence, Venice and Rome. While focusing on Italy, the course will pay attention also to its place in the world of the ‘first globalization’. Special attention will be devoted to Italy’s relations with Europe, the Americas, as well as with the Mediterranean and South East Asia. Along with reading some classic texts of the Italian and Western canon (Machiavelli, Leonardo, Shakespeare, Montaigne, Jefferson, Jhumpa Lahiri), the course will also examine a wide range of audio-visual material and give students the opportunity to visit several museums and libraries on campus (Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley Museum of Anthropology, Bancroft Library, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life).

Taught in English, no prerequisites.

Upper-division Italian Studies classes with instruction in English may be taken in Italian (by completing readings and written work in Italian) if the student has completed Italian 101, and with permission of the instructor.

Repeat Rules

Requirements class fulfills