Renaissance

Students analyze the origins, accomplishments, and geographic diffusion of the Renaissance.

Students will also:

describe the way in which the revival of classical learning and the arts fostered a new interest in humanism (i.e., a balance between intellect and religious faith).

explain the importance of Florence in the early stages of the Renaissance and the growth of independent trading cities (e.g., Venice), with emphasis on the cities’ importance in the spread of Renaissance ideas.

understand the effects of the reopening of the ancient “Silk Road” between Europe and China, including Marco Polo’s travels and the location of his routes.

describe the growth and effects of new ways of disseminating information (e.g., the ability to manufacture paper, translation of the Bible into the vernacular, printing).

detail advances made in literature, the arts, science, mathematics, cartography, engineering, and the understanding of human anatomy and astronomy (e.g., by DanteAlighieri, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo di Buonarroti Simoni, Johann Gutenberg,William Shakespeare).