History 182

Reading questions for January 20:

While reading both articles, keep the following questions in mind:

How do the authors regard the value of terms such as "Renaissance" or "Reformation"? Why are these terms controversial?

Both articles refer to a nineteenth-century historian named Jakob Buckhardt. Who was Burckhardt and why is he important? What point of view regarding the period under consideration is he associated with?

What insights do these articles offer with regard to how historical periods should be identified and labeled?

Brady et. al., introduction to Handbook of European History 1400-1600

What events and developments have traditionally been regarded as important for this period? What controversies have sprung up?

Do the authors offer their own scheme for periodization? What do they regard as the significant features of the era?

What do the authors mean by "softer contours of European events between 1400 and 1600?

William J. Bouwsma, "The Renaissance and the Drama of Western History"

What does Bouwsma mean when he refers to the "the collapse of the traditional dramatic organization of Western history"?

What is the significance of the two references to the "dinner fork" in this article?

As students paying astronomical tuition to take courses from the Whitman college, you may wish to ponder the significance of the observation that "we should treat the course catalogue with more respect." What does this mean to you?

What kinds of ideas and discoveries have led to what Bouwsma regards as the decline of the Renaissance as a significant milepost in Western history?

Can you determine, from context, what is meant by the phrase longue duree (French for "long term")? WHy is this concept a problem for the very notion of a Renaissance?

What is the "apocalyptic myth" referred to on page 9?

How, according to Bouwsma, can the Renaissance be a useful concept?