As stated in your syllabus, you will be responsible for writing three 3-4 page ANALYTICAL responses to the assigned readings.  Each response is worth 10% of your final grade, for a total of 30%.  Below is a list of general guidelines to follow when writing your responses.

1.   Each response is to be between 3-4 pages long.  The length will depend upon the topic and your ability to succinctly express your ideas and opinions on each subject.  Don’t cheat yourself: cutting short your answer for the sake of saving yourself a bit of work can only be detrimental to the fullness of your argument, and therefore to your grade. 

2.   The content of each response is loosely framed by the topic we will be exploring each time.  You may write about general or specific aspects of the topic.  It is also acceptable simply to respond to one of the guide questions that will be provided a week in advance.  Keep in mind, however, that I expect well thought-out responses, and not a regurgitation of information from the readings.  ANALYZE, DON’T SUMMARIZE.

3.   Once again, GRAMMAR COUNTS.  Make sure you use correct grammar; it can only further your arguments by making them clear and precise.  If you turn in a truly badly written response, I will return it to you ungraded!

4.   Responses are due at the beginning of each class.  Late responses will be accepted, but you will be heavily penalized for turning in late responses: YOU WILL LOSE A FULL LETTER GRADE PER DAY (not class) the response is late.  MAKE AN ADDITIONAL COPY AND BRING IT TO CLASS, as you will be required to share your written ideas with your classmates.

5.   Failure to complete these assignments will result in an F for the course.

Just a few reminders:

      I.   There are several readings which you have to access through this website.  To make downloading easier, some of the articles have been divided into two files,    

            and you must download each part separately.

Here are the readings which you must get on-line:

A.     Lecture Notes:

1.     For September 20: The Italian Recipe for Change, I: The Commercial Revolution

2.     For September 22: The Italian Recipe for Change, II: The Rise of the City-State

3.     For December 1: The Italian Wars

B.  Primary/Secondary Sources:

1.     For September 20 –

Ø      Richard Goldthwaite, “The Preconditions for Luxury,” in Benjamin Kohl and Alison Andrews Smith, eds.  Major Problems in the History of the Renaissance (Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath &Co., 1995), 61-67.

2.     For September 29 –

                   Ø      David Herlihy, “Social Mobility in Florence,” in Kohl, Major Problems, 94-99.

                   Ø      Diane Owens Hughes, “Sumptuary Law and Social Relations in Renaissance Italy,” in Kohl, Major Problems, 362-373.

3.     For October 4 –

Ø      Richard Trexler, “The Friendship of Citizens,” in Public Life in Renaissance Florence (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press), 131- 58.

Ø      Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, "'Kin, Friends, and Neighbors': The Urban Territory of a Merchant Family in 1400," in Women, Family and Ritual in Renaissance Italy (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1985), 68-93. 

4.       For October 9 –

                   Ø      Francesco Barbaro, “On Wifely Duties,” in Benjamin G. Kohl and Ronald G. Witt, The Earthly Republic: Italian Humanists on Government

                         and Society (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1978), 189-228.

                   Ø      Margaret King, “Book Lined Cells: Women and Humanism…,” in Kohl, Major Problems.

                   Ø      Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, “Maternity, Widowhood, and Dowry in Florence,” in Kohl, Major Problems, 319-326.

5.       For October 11 –

     Ø     Leonardo Bruni, “Panegyric to the City of Florence,” selections to be announced.

     Ø      John Najemy, “Guild Republicanism in Trecento Florence,” in Kohl, Major Problems, 120-130.

     Ø     Dale Kent, “The Rise of the Medici,” in Kohl, Major Problems, 156-165.

6.       For October 16 –

     Ø     Patricia Fortini Brown, “Venezianità: The Otherness of Venetians,” in Art and Life in Reniassance Venice (New York: Abrams, 1997), 9-38.

                   Ø     Frederick Lane, “The Venetian Aristocracy Takes Control,” in Kohl, Major Problems, 130-139.

                   Ø     Edward Muir, “The Myth of Venice,” in Civic Ritual in Renaissance Venice (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1981), 13-61.

                  7.       For October 27 –

Ø      Francesco Petrarca, “A Disapproval of the Unreasonable Use of Dialectic,” in Cassirer, Ernst, et al.  The Renaissance Philosophy of Man (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956), 134-139.

8.       For November 6 –

Ø      Leon Battista Alberti, “Self-Portrait of a Universal Man,” in James B. Ross and Mary M. McLaughlin, eds. The Portable Renaissance Reader  (New York: Penguin, 1953), 480-492.

Ø      Pico della Mirandola, “Oration on the Dignity of Man,” in Cassirer, Renaissance Philosophy, 215-254.

9.       For November 13 –

     Ø      Richard Trexler, “Ritual Behavior in Renaissance Florence,” in Kohl, Major Problems, 393-403.

The rest of the readings are all in the required books.

           II.     You must do ALL the readings listed, even if no response is due on a given day.  Having a good discussion will depend on how prepared you guys are.  Some of the readings are long: give yourself enough time to do them!

        III.     Responses are due September 28, October 10, November 14, and November 30.  Each response should answer ONE of the questions in your guide for that particular reading.  Remember: You are still responsible for ALL the readings due that day!

One last word: these responses are formal assignments.  That means that you should write a viable essay, with an introduction, body, and conclusion.  Have a thesis statement and then prove your point!  USE QUOTES FROM THE READINGS, AND ANNOTATE!!!