This course will be on the political, sexual, social, economic, religious, and cultural ethical ideas and practices in Italy between 1250 and 1400, roughly the lives of Dante and Petrarch. It will be conducted primarily as a discussion seminar (for 30 students from History and Italian) and will be based on assigned readings. There will be films, contextual lectures, and presentations at the beginnings of some meetings. Articles will posted on my web site in the history department. The reading should be about 100 pages per week, but some weeks a bit more. Grading will be based on class dialogue, written two-page topical essays handed in at the end of a class, and a short final take-home essay.
The students will be organized into five groups for the discussions. The groups will meet during class and discuss their ideas and reactions to the suggested study questions circulated the week before. One person (but perhaps for some topics two people) will present the group’s responses and conflicting points of view. Each group will respond each week. Which one starts the discussion will rotate each week, so that each gets to open the discussion.