Major Requirement: History of Europe, Period prior to 1500
This course begins by examining the changes, as well as the medieval carry-overs, that brought about the period known as the Renaissance. The effects of impersonal forces such as climate change and epidemics, the impact of the discovery of the Americas, and a new understanding of human capabilities will be considered. The course then turns to a survey of the intellectual movements and of the religious, social, and political characteristics of European history from 1500 (the coming of the Reformation) to 1714 (the height of French power under Louis XIV.) The emphasis will fall upon those changes that prepared society for the transition to what is now considered the “modern” world. (Course offered in alternate years.)