Contesting the Renaissance

by William Caferro

Overview

In this book, William Caferro asks if the Renaissance was really a period of progress, reason, the emergence of the individual, and the beginning of modernity.

• An influential investigation into the nature of the European Renaissance
• Summarizes scholarly debates about the nature of the Renaissance
• Engages with specific controversies concerning gender identity, economics, the emergence of the modern state, and reason and faith
• Takes a balanced approach to the many different problems and perspectives that characterize Renaissance studies

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781444391329
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	08/24/2010
Series:	Contesting the Past
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
File size:	852 KB

About the Author

William Caferro is Associate Professor of History at Vanderbilt University. His previous publications include Mercenary Companies and the Decline of Siena (1998), and The Spinelli: Merchants, Patrons and Bankers in Renaissance Florence (1998).

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Table of Contents

1. The Renaissance Question.

2. Individualism. Who was the Renaissance Man?

3. Gender. Who was the Renaissance Woman?

4. Humanism. Renovation or Innovation?

5. Economy. Hard Times or Prosperity?

6. Politics. The Emergence of the Modern State?

7. Faith and Science. Religious or Rational?

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"An admirably wide-ranging and fair-minded survey of a vast body of literature."
—Christine Shaw, Swansea University

"After decades of quarrels and controversy over the meaning of the historical Renaissance in the modern world, William Caferro reminds us why all the fighting has mattered—and how much fun it has been for the participants and spectators."
—William J. Connell, Seton Hall University

Editorial Reviews

"Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries." (Choice, 1 August 2011)

From the Publisher