| Description: | Beginning with the decline of Roman civilization described in the course "Greeks, Etruscans and Romans", this course explores the remarkable series of transitions that Western civilization underwent from the 5th to the 15th century CE, focusing especially on the Italian perspective and on the reorientation of values experienced with the coming of the Renaissance. Topics include: the barbarian invasions, medieval Christianity, the Crusades, the rise of the Italian city-states, the Black Death, medieval and Renaissance art and culture, and Rome during the fifteenth century. Site visits in Rome will form an essential component of the course. |