HISTORY 2341 - Inventing Modernity

Institution:

Bard College

Subject:

Description:

German Studies, Italian Studies, STS Starting with Jacob Burckhardt's classic account The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, this course examines the role of the drastic upheavals of the early modern period in defining the origins of such institutions as capitalism, political individuality, religious freedom, democracy, and the modern military. Towns, cities, and peasant communes of the Italian- and German-speaking regions of Europe provide the geographic focus. Two apparently opposed developments are considered: first, the role of the autonomous peasant commune, particularly in Switzerland, as a model and spur for political forms such as democracy and anarchism; second, the development of modern capitalism and technology as they came to impinge on the traditional feudal and communal orders. The course also addresses the historiography and politics surrounding the "invention" of the Renaissance in the late 19thcentury, looking particularly at Burckhardt's relation with Ranke, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.bard.edu

Phone Number:

(845) 758-6822

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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