A bronze statue of Erasmus of Rotterdam, made by Hendrick de Keyser in 1622. (Image courtesy of Quistnix. Source: Wikimedia Commons. License CC BY.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. Jeffrey S. Ravel
MIT Course Number
21H.141
As Taught In
Spring 2015
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to major political, social, cultural and intellectual changes in Europe from the beginnings of the Renaissance in Italy around 1300 to the outbreak of the French Revolution at the end of the 1700s. It focuses on the porous boundaries between categories of theology, magic and science, as well as print. It examines how developments in these areas altered European political institutions, social structures, and cultural practices. It also studies men and women, nobles and commoners, as well as Europeans and some non-Europeans with whom they came into contact.