ITAL 8815 Language and Power in Early Modern Italy (1300-1600)

Conducted in Italian. Political power in pre-modern Italy, as elsewhere, was gained, increased, and maintained not through military and economic might alone. Languages - in all its forms - played a significant role as well in acquiring and consolidating the loyalty of the masses, as we shall explore in this course, focusing on the fourteenth through the seventeenth centuries. We will examine the key, recurrent themes of public discourse, such as appeals to territorial pride, destiny, virility, rebirth, and self-sacrifice, as communicated through a wide variety of means of civic expression, including political oratory, social ritual, the fine arts and works of literature.