An anticipation of scholasticism

Let's get down to business, to defeat the Hunns...er course?  I don't really want to defeat it.  I just want to enjoy it.  Sorry, Mulan, you're song's no good here.  What can I expect from a course that I have little more than rumors and whispers of information about?  We have been called to form some prophetic claims here, some pretty heavy stuff if you will, to declare what we see coming from this course and what we shall contribute to it.  Then whoever looks back on it at the end of the course and was closest wins a free imperial laurel...or something like that.  So here's going for the gold!  What to expect from a class called "The FACEbook of the Renaissance: Who Would You Friend?" is quite the conundrum.  It's much like trying to select a favorite book just by its title.  Today, perhaps more so than ever, books are tailored to be attractive to the eye and less descriptive as to its actual contents.  Perhaps the results of a Laissez Faire world.  Regardless of my musings, 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, what have you.  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.  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?  Was this a growing trend or something that was renovated and established during the origin of the Renaissance.  What even got that thing going in the first place?  I don't know what kind of catalyst established something as influential or far reaching as the Renaissance but I'd love to get to know (hint hint Earl and Cathy).  I imagine herein lies the intellectual stuffs that occupy my mind. PHILOSOPHY (insert ominous chorus lines and glorious thunder) with a mixture of THEOLOGY (reinsertion of aforementioned articles) had heavy hands in shaping the Italian Renaissance and I want to delve SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO deep into it.  Sadly I have merely five weeks and have no foreknowledge on the matter, but I trust our handy philosopher will remedy such maladies forthwith.  The matters of the Renaissance will certainly be made clear to me post haste, I am certain, through the venue of ROME!  We depart in three days!  AH!  I am most excited about seeing the Coluseum and the Sistine Chapel.  Who knows what else is there (I've been so busy with planning trips to Pompeii and Capri!  HA) but I'm sure I'll find it.  Well it's off to some pizza with friends.  Perhaps I'll catch a bit of the renaissance out there!