The Renaissance in Summation

I have been given the arduous task of delineating, defending, and describing a letter grade for my performance in the course.  I must simultaneously perform a measure of humility in the same breath as attempting to get the grade I want, I must be both self critical and self praising.  After all this is considered, I ever so cautiously, with begrudging humility, extend the rough estimate of an earned A.  I base this hopeful grade off of my achievements in reaching the course objectives, which can be summarized in the ability to 1.) remember and explicate crucial information to the Renaissance ideals, history, and developments, 2.) to draw analysis and interpretation from the formal materials of the Renaissance, and 3.) develop and display the capabilities necessary to construct meaningful discussion in and out of class and performing the responsibilities of a student in prior and subsequent class participation.  As an aside, those of you have kept up with my blog will attest that I struggle with constructing lucid and concise works, or blog entries in the very least, so I will attempt to construct a less convoluted entry here.

Weaknesses:

Honestly, my alacrity to see to the completion of blogs was sorrowfully lacking towards the end of our time in Italy. I have never been much of a journal keeper, so to think of the blog as being different was foolish of me to begin with!  Though I did achieve the completion of my blogs, the last set was likely a bit late.  This is due in large part to my own (self-made) over-booked schedule but in the same breath I must admit that this delay led to a deal of critical exercise that should have been performed prior to class undone.  The result had my cogitations overly concerned with their own mental gears over the class materials being covered, towards the end of the course at least.  This came especially to head towards the end of the trip in Italy.  Whereas they may now be complete and sufficient, their times of submission were wanting in many cases.

I think I was often times too hasty in my drawn connections between the Renaissance especially in class.  Perhaps this is a product of my last short coming, but I often times purported theses in class that were either untenable or outright rejected by the professor in class.  These points are perhaps interpreted by some as something less threatening, just an inquisitive student testing the waters of his own suspicions, but I know that I at least struggle very much with my suspicions being wrong!  I wouldn't go so far as to say the connections were ill-established, but rather something that was unfounded or an act of pushing the connection attempts to hard.  Whatever the case may be, I recall this experience of my time in Italy with some certain self frustration, which I must take certain steps towards preventing the generation of self deprecation therefrom.

Though, in general I kept up with class reading well, there was indeed a day, the very last one, where I was utterly unprepared for the class discussion.  I had not read the material and was therefore struggling verily to stay on top of the discussion at hand. Recognizing this and admitting this is made most difficult though, in knowing just how badly I wanted to read the materials and have them done for class on time.  But alas, no one is perfect.

I think I also struggled somewhat with the side of analysis of the texts we were presented.  From both too much and too little education on the topic, I was incapable of properly analyzing music and painted/sculpted/visually inclined art respectively.  The result had me working hard, spinning my wheels to learn and wrap my head around the topics at hand the first week.  It took quite a few weeks for me to empty my head/become receptive enough to graciously accept my education and craft something like an understanding or operational basis for the texts we studied.

Strengths:

It is perhaps my blogs that best show my progression in the course, to evince a gradual growth that I had not boasted priorly.  In recognizing the humanism of the Renaissance, especially the civic and secular, one need look no further than my The Grecian gods, the Christian God(s?), and David post, which addresses the civic and nearly godlike position David served for the city of Firenze and how well this reflects the sense of humanism, among other things, that grew out of the Renaissance.  It is a crucial conglomerate of the fields of recalling Renaissance facts and combining that with the analysis, a kind of formal-critical analysis hybrid that is but one of the few gems that sprinkles my blog postings.  Though the assertion that David serves a similar kind of role to the very Grecian ideal of possessing a city-claimed deity as their own is perhaps arguable, the crucial steps for the course encourage the act and praxis of the course goals and not solely unerring products of comparison!  Thus my post boasts a sort of potent and heart felt attempt at seeing through both formal and critical analysis.

In regards to class participation, homework, and blogs, I see my performance as devoted with every human attempt at serving the course objectives, class mates (professors included), and provided texts with the utmost in respect and frank compassion.  Not only did I internalize my relationship with my classmates and those very important around me, but I adopted the Renaissance material as something new and old (perhaps a rebirth thereof?).  This course has become something foundational, formational, and phenomenal.  As such, I have learned to find friends not only in the present, but through the texts of the past.

Finally, I think my further application of the Renaissance texts we covered have evinced a sort of strengthened world understanding, not solely historically, but spiritually, academically, and internationally as well.  Recognizing the influence of the Renaissance on the West is a potent practice that shall admittedly benefit me for the rest of my life.  I have had several conversations, spanning from inquisitive souls just wanting a tip of the iceberg to delineate my experiences in Italy, to the most well educated scholars on some topics.  Here's the shocker: I was able to hold my own, regardless of the situation!  Instead of seeing myself above or below these peoples, as if we all climbed Jacob's ladder in Pico's example, I am on an equal field of humanism with all peoples, capable of explicating to the simple minded and swim in the deep end with the pros (if perhaps struggling to keep my head above the water at times).  This product shows me that my ability to recall the texts covered, places visited, and the like, by far exceeds anything I could have once hoped.  I thanks God daily for the influence of this trip in my life and my daily interaction with others that has ensued.

In summation:

Overall, I have lived through the progression of learning something I already knew!  Much like Plato argues that people already knew the truth that he helps to elicit from them, I see myself in a similar boat, that I always was a Renaissance-kind of guy and am just now able to apply that idea knowledgeably and responsibly in my life.  Going in to the course I exercised a kind of snobbery that would suggest I know it all and need not listen, but this mindset got me no where and I see this as having shifted largely to accommodate honest and hopefully more humble learning.  I think that I am now, at least cognitively, much more in touch with those of the ancient world and the Renaissance world, that my thinking has blossomed in a (re)rebirth so that I now can revel in a sort of modern old version of something grand.  I am admittedly more influenced by Catholicism, which I am pleased with and at least religiously feel much more in touch with my Christian roots.  To say who I am is radical and changed is an understatement.  I understand radical comes from the Latin word radix meaning root (according to Dictionary.com).  This is what I have become, the very embodiment of what my great catholic friend, Dr. Carscadon continues to admonish me: "The stream is always more pure at its source.  To do something truly original and authentic, do something old and radical." (pardon my paraphrase)  This being said, I think my thinking and learning has developed into something much more radical, humble, liberal(-artsy), and open minded and I am proud of it!

A Synthesizer Remix of the Renaissance

Here's a quick three point synopsis of this blog entry: 1.) Perceived expectations of experiences versus actual experiences in the Renaissance course, 2.) An alteration in self understanding as a result of the course, 3.) Growth in comprehension of the Renaissance as evinced by the progression of blogging.

1.) I originally presented a sort of idea that, "I project that this class shall encompass thematic flow in Renaissance art, establishing general trends to explain ideology behind approaches to painting, sculpture, music, architecture." This kind of expectation was entirely met and more so, exploring the roots of the Renaissance in its Grecian and Roman roots proved to be something altogether more powerful and influential after experiencing the locales around which these things were constructed.  Castiglione's Renaissance representations in The Courtier was lived out directly in Urbino!  We even got to study the architects of the Florentine Duomo and Dante before visiting their home town, Firenze!  This kind of effect is something entirely other-worldly, ethereal even!  Not enough can be said for the benefits of actually studying abroad, as opposed to taking an easy class with the excuse then to go traveling on your own.  But then specifically in response to the Renaissance, I learned much more in depth examples and snibits of historical Renaissance figures' works.  In combination with this aspect I also was very pleased with the sort of haphazard arrangement of the course material.  It was not arranged necessarily by thematic or even chronological order, but rather arranged around cities attended.  This sort of beautiful way of class organization led to a distinct connection with intellectual information on those locations.  This kind of connection is something I scarcely doubt shall ever depart from me.  I didn't really understand the variety in which the term text would be employed for this course but I also now truly understand how I might be capable of comprehending the concepts behind the Renaissance equally as well in utilizing a piece of music as a glorious painting as a piece of architecture as a philosophical text.  This kind of  enlightened state shall perhaps liberate my intellectual endeavors from merely pursuing the stylings of the traditional philosopher but stem over into other disciplines and explore their philosophies. Ultimately the interdisciplinary status of the Renaissance has spilled over into my life to form a more interdisciplinary understanding of the nature of education in general.
It grew to be apparent that my expectations for the course in many ways would always pale in comparison to the original.  I was attempting to craft my expectations in light of the other courses  but this course was designed in special circumstances and respects.  It seems to me rather influential to include the study of a locale and its products before visiting it.  If Urbino can be any kind of indicator, our class reflected a more honest and potent reaction to the art, history, and hard work present through the "crown of the Renaissance" (as our tour guide informed us Urbino was once known).
In general, the course covered the art side with much greater depth than I once expected it to, especially musically speaking.  IT did not provide the mathematical side of architecture that I once hoped for, but I think that was fairly balanced with a greater exploration of other areas of art.  The philosophy of the course I thought was also fundamental to the function of the course.  Not only were Renaissance philosophies covered, but their sources and inspirations were also given fair review to the extent that I was even granted access into my own misconceptions on some of the matters of my own major, philosophy!  Quite impressive indeed. 


2.)  Here's a fascinating tidbit:  I think I have become much more open to many of the concepts of Roman Catholicism being here in Italia than any other time I had interacted with it.  I think I had a much harsher and protestant understanding of things like relics and cathedrals before my trip to Italia as evinced by this early excerpt: "I want very much to see what the church's influence was on the Renaissance and to what purposes and ambitions things were aimed artistically.  Why does the church need such elaborate structures, paintings, and art in general?"  I now understand that perhaps the church has reserved the best things for God and that through the neo-Platonic ideologies of the ability of art and music to access the world of Forms and grant passage into the Divine Frenzy.  I am willing to claim Saint Francis of Assisi as my patron saint now!  This is something that prior to this trip seemed unimaginable and altogether heretical.  And yet here I am, professing a Franciscan sort of patronage.  Part of this is crucially tied to Saint Francis' service as a gateway to the Renaissance: "It may in fact be due to the humanist and nature loving thoughts of Francis that so many artists were able to shake the Eastern Orthodox-esque limitations on the depiction of reality in art."  This is perhaps a sort of spill over from the self understanding and the Renaissance understanding, but this is a special conglomerate.
There is also the realization that I am much more Renaissance-esque in nature than I would once purport.  This realization is important in the sense that the denial of my liberal-arts, virtuous, and humanist roots would be to deny much of my upbringing, in college and prior.  Though I recognized my liberal arts background in my first blog ("On this level I hold strong hopes that the course shows me a lot more of the influences that the Renaissance has on my daily life, aside from the fact of my Scholastic endeavors' inclination towards liberal arts.")  This has shown me just how heavily the Renaissance has affected my life and continues its positive hold in my life.  I think my blog betrays, too, how I begin to understand my connection with the past and the world at large.  It challenges me to no ends to find a concise example of this specific development but it can be seen laced throughout my blogs, whether we observe an arduous and terrifying train ride shifting to "I hopped a train" by the end of the trip or the very fact that I am now determined to achieve dual citizenship with the European Union and the USA, which should be expedited in my father's maintained citizenship with Holland.


3.) To show my understanding of the Renaissance as it enhanced, I see a slew of progression throughout my blogs.  I began the course by anachronistically drawing corollaries between the Renaissance and later time periods: "It seems like the Renaissance is directly reflected in the peoples of Europe just before WW I. " But quickly recognized the eccentricity of this time period, for its Creativity, Self Consciousness, Individualism, Secularism, and Humanism.  These central concepts pop up through out my blogs, thanks, no doubt, in large part to my fantastical instructors who informed our conceptions of the Renaissance in ways heretofore unimagined.  Knowing that I'd never even looked or criticized art (cognitively) before this Renaissance course make recognition of balance, color schemes, and formal criticism performed in blogs all the more impressive to my eye: "The balance in this piece is clever in recognition of the split between the sky and the ground and the battle scene in contrast to the body of water in the left corner creates an off center, yet oddly balanced piece."  Learning and recognizing huge portion of vastly important architectural and "rebirth" style science and art shows that my practice in the Renaissance was truly benefited and enhanced by the interaction with my class: "This is what Brunelleschi offered to the Renaissance: a rebirth for the appreciation and application of Roman architecture.  The product made possible was the once thought impossible establishment of the dome on the Basilica that remained uncovered for 80 years: the Duomo.  Using an ingenious mixture of Roman and Gothic architecture, Brunelleschi was able to achieve what many before him for nearly a century couldn't. "  What must certainly not go without notice is the fantastic work of our professors though.  By no means did I have to struggle to learn foreign concepts, nor contort my mind to comprehend my assignments.  Surely not!  Nay in fact I was so relieved to find accommodating, understanding and helpful people at the helm of this "rebirth" ship that I never even had to check the astrolabe for fear of going off course.
All metaphors aside, recognizing and following those prefacing and defacing (ha) the Renaissance way, especially those who served as harbingers of the way to come, like Dante or Saint francis, made it possible for me to grasp the way of the Renaissance to come: "Dante Alighieri portrays many of the attributes that we see common to the Renaissance period, including, but not limited to, an historical self consciousness, secularism, humanism, a utilization of tempered rationalism, and a revitalization and appreciation of the ancients."
Visiting the architecture and art of the Renaissance certainly taught me valuable lessons and gave me opportune glimpses into the true venue of the Renaissance message.  The David(s) in Firenze afforded me the fantastic chance to learn the place of civic pride in the Renaissance and the true effects of the rise of Humanism in the Renaissance: "David is seen as a prime example of the capability of humanity to reach near divine status, to be a man after the heart of God, to unite the 12 discordant tribes of Israel, to reign forever strong in guiding the kingdom of Israel: this is the man in the bible chosen to represent Firenze, the center of the Renaissance."


What a fantastic experience!