Classical Studies 149; History 100R
Duke in Venice: Summer 1999
Contact Information
Prof. Gregson Davis
Course Description
This course will explore select topics in the formation and development of Venetian civilization against the background of earlier, dominant Mediterranean cultures (e.g. the legacies of the Roman and Byzantium empires). Topics in the history of the city will include: intercultural contact between western and eastern Mediterranean powers during Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; political and military conflicts between Venice and the Arab and Turkish (Ottoman) empires; the Crusades; Italian Humanism and the Renaissance revival of classical culture; the role of Venetian printing houses in the dissemination of classical texts; the use of Greco-Roman mythology by prominent Venetian artists (such as Titian and Veronese).
Lectures and readings will relate aspects of Venetian civilization to extant monuments and artifacts (e.g. the decoration of San Marco and the Doges’ Palace; the Jewish ghetto; the Arsenal). The class will also make regular field trips to museums, churches, public monuments and archaeological sites both in and beyond the city of Venice (e.g. Ravenna, Padova, Verona). We will also examine and discuss representations of Venetian lifestyle and culture in a small selection of works in the European literary canon (e.g. plays by Shakespeare and Carlo Goldoni).
Lane, Frederic C. Venice: Maritime Republic. (The Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore & London, 1973)
Honour, Hugh. The Companion Guide to Venice. (Rev. Ed. Boydell & Brewer. New York, 1996)
Shakespeare, William The Merchant of Venice (Signet Classics)
Shakespeare, William Othello, ed. Kenneth Muir (New Penguin Series, Viking Penguin, 1981)
Mann, Thomas Death in Venice, trans. & ed. Clayton Kolb (Norton Critical Edition Series, Norton, 1994)
Mon. 5/31 Some Ancient Mediterranean Seapowers: Overview
(Minoan Crete, Phoenicians, Athenians)
Tues. 6/1 Western Mediterranean Colonization
(Greeks, Carthaginians, Etruscans)
Wed. 6/2 Roman Expansion in Italy: Conflicts with Carthage
(Early Republic, Vergil’s mythography)
Th. 6/3 Roman Expansion into Eastern Mediterranean
(Augustus: From Republic to Empire)
Mon. 6/7 Later Roman Empire. Reign of Diocletian
(Tetrarchy, rise of Christianity)
Tues. 6/8 Constantine and Constantinople
Wed. 6/9 Rise of Byzantium. Early Christianity
Th. 6/10 Venetian Mythography: Piazza San Marco
Mon. 6/14 Barbarian invasions, Pope and Emperor
Tues. 6/15 Growth of Venice—Trade and Commerce
Wed. 6/16 Arab expansion, Saracens, Crusades
Th. 6/17 Sack of Byzantium, Spoils of Conquest
Mon. 6/21 Renaissance Humanism
Tues. 6/22 Dissemination of Learning: Printing Houses
Wed. 6/23 Latin Literature and Landscape
Th. 6/24 Ottoman Empire; Conflict with Turks
Week V (6/28-7/2) Venice in Literature (1)
Mon. 6/28 Shakespeare: Othello (1) Branagh Film
Tues. 6/29 (Final Exam: Art History)
Wed. 6/30 Shakespeare: Othello (2) Images of Venice
Th. 7/1 Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice
(Venice and the Jewish Ghetto)
Week VI (7/6-10) Venice in Literature (2)
Mon. 7/5 (No Class)
Tues. 7/6 Commedia dell’ Arte: Background
Goldoni: The Venetian Twins
Wed. 7/7 Thomas Mann: Death in Venice
(Visconti Film)
Th. 7/8 Coda: Post-Renaissance Venice
Fri. 7/9 (Final Exam: Classical Studies)
6/14 Donation of Constantine
6/14 Theodoric
6/15 Saladin
6/15 Charlemagne
6/22 “Marriage of Venice with the Sea”
6/22 Doge Tommasco Mocenigo
6/24 Doge Francesco Foscari
6/24 Pope Pius II
6/28 Marco Polo
7/6 Antonio Vivaldi
7/7 Casanova
7/8 Napolean and Venice