The Humanist in the Renaissance
Activities 1 A and 1 B
INTRODUCTION:
It is the humanist who brought an end to medieval thinking by stressing philosophy over religion, the earth rather than heaven, the achievements of ancient Greece and Rome above those of the present, the natural instead of the supernatural, and the glory of man's abilities. Although some humanists remained loyal to the Christian faith, others considered accomplishments during antiquity superior. This ran counter to any call for humility as they embraced the world with intellectual scholarship.TIME:
1-2 period(s)MATERIALS & PREPARATION:
Class set of the brief descriptions of noted humanists.Selected excerpts of several writings by each of the noted humanists (see suggestions)
Transparency of a "found poem" to model for students
Colors, rulers, pens
Notebooks* or 2 sheets of paper per student
OBJECTIVE:
Students will learn more background on the Renaissance humanists. Using examples of humanists' writing, students will restructure a work to create a poetic effect or emotional response.PROCEDURES:
- Distribute copies of the descriptions of humanists and instruct students to create a graphic organizer of important facts.
- After 15 minutes, have students pair & share their notes with a partner.
- Project "found poem" transparency explaining that it is composed from the words of a letter which Machiavelli wrote to a friend while he was exiled from Florence and living on a Tuscan farm. http://www.duke.edu/~rwitt/neh.html (see Susan Craig Sapner under "Petrarch")
From Lettere, ed. By G. Lesca (Florence, 1929) pp. 88-90 in The Foundations of Early Modern Europe by Eugene F. Rice, Jr. and Anthony Grafton. - Explain that students will read several examples of humanist writing and select one to use in creating their own "found poem" on the left-side page opposite their graphic organizer.
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