The Renaissance

In this course we will study the intersection between Renaissance literature and the great journeys of exploration and conquest that shaped the birth of the modern world. We will read fictional works by such authors as Shakespeare, Cervantes, More, Montaigne, Camoens, and Rabelais, in dialogue with writings of the sailors, missionaries, cartographers, scoundrels, and traders who expanded the limits of the European imagination with their accounts of “unknown” territory. In addition to reading a number of influential literary texts, we will work with primary historical material by studying maps, images, and collections of “curiosities.” Among the questions we will ask: how does the expansion of territory generate new forms of literary representation? How can you describe an object that has never been written about? How is a narrative like a map?