Renaissance: The Transformation of the West

Join a master historian for a revealing, comprehensive look at how the European Renaissance revolutionized politics, society, and faith.

Overview

Course No. 3917

Professor McNabb’s 48-lecture masterwork examines the Renaissance beyond art, exploring:

• The political and economic foundations of Italian city-states
• How humanism reshaped education and thought
• The complex interplay between Renaissance and Reformation
• Global encounters from the Ottoman Empire to the New World

From Machiavelli to Michelangelo, this course reveals how 300 years of cultural upheaval created modern Western civilization.

Video Lectures

Part 1: Italian Renaissance Foundations

1-8. Politics and Patronage (30-35 min)
Florence’s golden age, Venetian republic, Borgia intrigues, Renaissance Man ideal.

9-14. Artistic Revolution (31-35 min)
Botticelli to Michelangelo, women artists, architectural innovations, Vasari’s lives.

Part 2: Northern Renaissance

15-20. Monarchies and Minds (33-35 min)
Tudor England, Christian humanism, Dürer’s art, Shakespeare’s stage.

Part 3: Daily Life and Faith

21-28. Social Transformations (32-35 min)
Peasant revolts, urban crime, marriage customs, papal power struggles.

Part 4: Reformation and Conflict

29-35. Religious Upheaval (32-35 min)
Luther’s break, Calvin’s Geneva, English Reformation, Council of Trent.

Part 5: Global Renaissance

36-48. War and Discovery (31-37 min)
Thirty Years’ War, witch trials, Ottoman encounters, Columbus to colonialism.