Renaissance Studies Humanities 312W Section: J100 Term: 2011 Spring Instructor: Dr. Brook W.R. Pearson Discussion Topics: One of the generally recognized defining characteristics of Renaissance culture is a turn (back) towards aspects of classical culture that had been neglected in Europe during the Medieval period. This course will be concerned with an aspect of this turn, namely the way in which the esoteric discourses of recently rediscovered Hermetic thought played a role in the development of Renaissance philosophy and science. Hermeticism, a mixture of astrology, magic, alchemy, philosophy and religious thought deriving (likely) from Egyptian thinkers in the 2nd4th centuries, was reintroduced to Europe during the 15th century, and would go on to influence a number of significant thinkers throughout the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Though we will focus primarily upon Florentine Hermetic thinkers of the 15th century, course presentations will also look at some modern connections to this material. We will also pay attention to the political setting of this material, as it is Cosimo de Medici (13891464), founder of the Florentine Medici dynasty, to whom we owe the re-discovery of the Corpus Hermeticum. Cosimo is well known to have exercised his influence in Italian culture through economic, political, religious but also more broadly scholarly and cultural channels. He founded the Florentine Academy, headed by Marsilio Ficino, among whose students number both Giordano Bruno and Pico della Mirandola, and even, possibly, Michelangelo. Through such thinkers, the influence of Hermeticism extended throughout European scholarly discourse. Grading: 50% = Term Paper \x09\x09 \x095% = Topic Proposal \x09 \x0910% = Annotated bibliography and outline \x09 \x0925% = First draft \x09 \x0910% = Finished product (20 pages) \x09 35% = Presentation \x09 15% = Class/Seminar Participation \x09 Required Texts: Giordano Bruno (ed. Blackwell and Lucca), Giordano Bruno: Cause, Principle and Unity: And Essays on Magic (CUP, 1998; ISBN: 0521596580) Giordano Bruno, The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast (U. of Nebraska, 2004; ISBN: 0803262345) Brian Copenhaver (ed. and trans.), Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with Notes and Introduction (CUP, 1995; ISBN: 0521425433) Umberto Eco, Foucaults Pendulum (Harcourt, 2007; ISBN: 015603297X) Additional texts, particularly by Pico della Mirandola, are freely available electronically. Renaissance Studies Recommended Texts: Francis Yates, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition (U. of Chicago, 1991; ISBN: 0226950077) Materials/Supplies: Prerequisite/Corequisite: Prerequisites: 45 credit hours Notes: Writing. This outline is derived from a course outline repository database that was maintained by SFU Student Services and the University's IT Services Department. The database was retired in 2014 and the data migrated to SFU Archives in 2015..