This lecture series will pick up where the previous one left off, describing the contributions of · Michelangelo as a major figure of both the High and late Renaissance in Italy. It will then proceed to major developments in the art and literature of Rome, Venice and other Italian cities throughout the sixteenth century, including Giorgione, Titian, Cellini, Veronese, Ariosto, Stampa, Tasso, and the literary phenomenon of Petrarchism. The lectures conclude with certain developments of the early seventeenth century, especially the scientific revolution of Galileo whose view of the universe stands in marked contrast to the medieval notions of Dante, the subject of the first lecture series.

Convener: Christopher Nissen received his Ph. D. in Italian from the University of California at Berkeley, then taught Italian language and literature at NIU from 1988 to 2019. He is the author of numerous studies of Italian literature.