The Renaissance

In our first unit of instruction, we will explore the Renaissance. The Renaissance is not a time period, but a movement, a rebirth, and a flourishing of intellectual, artistic, and cultural life. Many historians view the Renaissance as a bridge between the medieval and modern world, making it the perfect place for our course to begin.

We'll also take a look at the Age of Exploration and Old Imperialism. By the mid-sixteenth century, Europeans were looking for better access to Asian trade goods. As they did, they accidentally "discovered" the Western Hemisphere and thus the New World. Europeans sought to impose their values, politics, and economic systems upon the peoples they encountered and conquered. The Age of Discovery (1450-1650) laid the foundations for the modern world of globalization.