INSTITUTE OF WORLD CULTURE STUDY CIRCLES
Study Circles meets on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 - 9:00 pm

Meeting are held at Concord House, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA

THE INSTITUTE STUDY CIRCLE FOCUSED ON THE EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE OF THE 15TH AND 16TH CENTURIES. DIVERSE TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, LITERATURE, ART, ARCHITECTURE, MUSIC, POLITICS, SOCIAL CHANGE, AND HUMAN POTENTIAL WERE STUDIED TO SEE HOW CULTURES OF THE PAST, PARTICULARLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY THOSE OF CLASSICAL GREECE AND ROME, WERE REVIVED, ASSIMILATED, AND USED TO SHAPE NEW CULTURAL IDEALS. HOW DID HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN TRADE, TRAVEL, AND SOCIAL VALUES CREATE CONDITIONS FOR A RENAISSANCE? WHAT PROCESS OF ASSIMILATION TURNS A REVIVAL INTO A GREAT TRANSITIONAL MOVEMENT? HOW DOES A RENAISSANCE SPREAD FAR BEYOND ITS ORIGINS? PARTICULAR ATTENTION WAS GIVEN TO THE "RENAISSANCE" MEN AND WOMEN WHO FORGED A NEW IDENTITY FOR HUMAN BEINGS AND CREATIVELY DEMONSTRATED PRACTICAL WAYS OF EXPRESSING NEW IDEALS. "It is not the civilization of a race, but that of mankind, present and future alike, that we must give up as lost, if belief in a rebirth of our civilization is a vain thing." Click here to continue with this quote from Albert Schweitzer "On The Decay and Restoration of Civilization" READINGS WILL BE POSTED BELOW AT LEAST A WEEK BEFORE EACH MEETING. Meeting Dates Topics for Discussion Presentations and Readings January 16 Global Precursers of the European Renaissance After an introduction to the study circle topic and a presentation on global presursers, we will view a videotaped talk by Professor Daniel N. Robinson on "The Renaissance–Was There One?" January 23 Recovery of Antiquity • "The Revival of Antiquity" fromThe Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, by Jacob Burckhardt, Part 3, pgs. 125-135. Click here for reading January 30   Italian Renaissance: The City State: Creative Associations Part 1: Government, Medici Family • "Florence and the Medici Family", from Lorenzo the Magnificent and the Florentine Renaissance, pgs. 22-29. Click here for reading • "The Republics" from The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, by Jacob Burckhardt, pgs. 65-71. Click here for reading February 6 Italian Renaissance: The City State: Creative Associations Part 2: Machiavelli; Guilds "The Prince and the Discourses", Niccoló Machiavelli. Click here for reading "The Ediface of Power, The Circle of Governments", Niccoló Machiavell . Click here for reading Link for information on Guilds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilds_of_Florence Click here for reading: "Guilds" from Encyclopedia Britannica February 13 Humanism: Core Values Click here for reading: "The Golden Age, Ficino and Erasmus" Click here for reading: "The Soul of Man", Marsilio Ficino Click here for reading: "Desiderius Erasmus" Click here for reading: Excerpts from "In Praise of Folly" by Desiderius Erasmus Click here for reading: Summary of "In Praise of Folly" February 20 Italian Renaissance: Leonardo da Vinci Click here for reading: "Introduction" from Leonardo Da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson February 27 Italian Renaissance: Music "Music in the Renaissance" by Rebecca Arkenberg, Department of Education, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2002. Click here for reading. March 6 Italian Renaissance: The Dignity of Man "Oration on the Dignity of Man" by Pico della Mirandola, Click here for reading "Self Portrait of a Universal Man" by Leon Battista Alberti. Click here for reading "Pico della Mirandola". Click here for reading March 13 Architecture: Classical Renaissance Forms North of the Alps Joyce Johnson will join the Study Circle on March 13th  to talk about how the ideas of the Renaissance influenced 16th through 18th century architecture north of the Alps.  She will show examples of 17th century structures and the décor of their interiors, and point out how they were influenced by the classical revival of the Renaissance.  French, English and other European styles will be shown. Reading: "Renaissance Architectural Developments in Italy" from Wikipedia, Click here for reading March 20 Italian Renaissance: The Significance of the Medici Family This meeting will focus on the contributions of Cosimo and Lorenzo Medici to the Renaissance. Selected clips from the PBS documentary: The Medici, Godfathers of the Renaissance, will be shown. No readings are suggested but there is much material to be found on the internet. March 27 German Renaissance: Revisioning the Cosmos–Johannes Kepler No readings are suggested but there is much material to be found on the internet. April 3 German Renaissance: The Art of Albrecht Dürer No readings are suggested but there is much material to be found on the internet. April 10 German Renaissance: Paracelsus–Physician, Alchemist, Astrologer Click here for reading on Paracelsus April 17 French Renaissance: The Literature of Michel de Montaigne and François Rabelais Click here for reading on Montaigne April 24 Renaissance Universities as Centers of Learning   May 1 Spanish Renaissance: Cervantes–Creator of Don Quixote, Character of a New Age?   May 8 English Renaissance: The World of Shakespeare John Dee and the English Renaissance was originally scheduled as the topic for tonight, but we have had to move it to May 15. Tonight we will look at Shakespeare, which was originally scheduled for next week. We will view one or two video lectures on Shakespeare, given by Professor Stephen Greenblatt. May 15 English Renaissance: John Dee   May 22 The Renaissance Hero as Artist We will watch Part 5 of the PBS Series "Civilization". May 29 The Renaissance Mind and Imagination This will be the final meeting of the Study Circle on the European Renaissance, summarizing what we have learned.