HUMANITIES 1003/3003:
THOUGHT AND CULTURE IN THE WEST, 1400-1650

Critical Essay Assignment

REQUIREMENTS:
Length: A typed paper of approximately 1250 words (3-5 typed pages).
Source Material: Course material studied this semester as contained on the course syllabus and web page (http://www.tc.umn.edu/~jbshank/HumIII_Home.html). You may consult other sources as well if you desire, but consultation of sources not on the syllabus is not required, and is even discouraged. If you do use outside sources be sure to document them through in-text citations and a bibliography (if necessary). For guidelines about citations see below.
Due: Thursday February 17 in class.

QUESTION:
Between the death of Dante Alighieri in Florence, Italy in 1321 and the birth of Niccolò Machiavelli in the same city in 1469, many scholars believe that a major cultural transformation occurred. Do you? If yes, what kind of change occurred exactly, caused by what, and with what effects? If no, what were the continuities that explain the apparent differences between Dante and Machiavelli, or between Italian art and literature in 1321 and Italian art and literature a century and a half later?

GUIDELINES:
Most important is that you offer a clear thesis answering this question and lots of detailed supporting evidence backing up your position. Remember: there are no right or wrong answers to this question, only well-defended and poorly-defended arguments. To make sure that you write a well-defended essay, first be certain that you assert a clear argumentative thesis (i.e. a position which someone might disagree with but which you want to prove to be correct). Then make sure you offer lots of corroborating evidence persuading even a skeptic that you are correct. In fact, since better essays usually result when the writer imagines a reader who is deeply suspicious of her point of view and then tries to build an argument that will persuade even this skeptic, your essay will be better if you also assume this skeptical reader as your audience and then work hard to include enough persuasive evidence to persuade even this critic that you are right. Since the most persuasive evidence is detailed, accurate historical examples and direct textual evidence, the best papers will also discuss precise historical developments and reproduce direct quotes drawn from the texts or artworks in question when supporting its thesis.

Be sure to be very precise in your answer and in your use of evidence. Just saying that “humanism” was born during this period, for example, isn’t saying anything specific and won’t constitute a good answer. What exactly was humanism, how exactly did it begin, and what precisely were the effects that it triggered? Answers to these specific questions, supported by references to the art and literature we have studied, will give you the specificity you need.

It is important that your essay be entirely your own work so please do not discuss the questions or your essay with anyone in the class. To do so is to violate the University Honor Code. Similarly we will not use class time to directly address the questions. You can consult with me individually if you have any questions or concerns.

When citing source materials, use the following rule: if you use a text on the syllabus and the edition that is for sale in the bookstore, then simply cite the work from which you are quoting briefly in the text by noting the author’s name, the text, and the page number. (i.e. Machaivelli, “Letter to Vettori,” p.125). If you use another edition, use the same format but note the publication information for the edition you are using as well (Machiavelli, “Letter to Vettori,” in Letters of Machiavelli (Hackett, 1975), pp. 198). If you use other source material not on the syllabus at all then use a full citation of author, title, publisher, publication date, page number. (i.e. Kate Simon, A Renaissance Tapestry: The Gonzaga of Mantua (Harper & Rowe, 1988), pp. 320-35.)

You are encouraged to work exclusively with the course materials and to avoid external research. If you do consult other books or research materials, however, then be sure to cite these works in your essay. To fail to do so is to plagiarize, a very serious offense. The same rule applies for web sites, encyclopedias, and any other source material. To be safe, either restrict yourself to the course materials alone in making your arguments or meticulously cite all your sources in the text.

In-text citations are fine, so only add a separate bibliography if you have consulted outside sources.