The Good Life: Renaissance Perspectives on Perennial Questions

What constitutes a good life? What conditions and relationships enable one to live well, and what attitudes and activities, systems and structures bring them about or make them possible? Renaissance men and women asked such questions, turning to study of the classical past and to close observation of their contemporary world in search of satisfying answers. This course will explore their reflections and investigations, experimentations and creations, examining seminal conceptions and ideals of the Renaissance through their expression in text and image. Topics will include beauty and love; virtue and honor; excellence and exceptionalism; freedom and justice; power and authority; leadership and governance; wealth and prosperity; work and service; education and religion; health and medicine; family, friendship and community. Focusing on Italian contexts with reference to broader European and global trends, discussion and analysis will center on discrepancies between the real and the ideal in Renaissance society and culture. Taught in English. NOTE: New Italian Studies Assistant Professor Sarah Prodan will teach this course.