The History Thread

[Canadian_kid16]

On a unrelated note, I'm reading The Prince right now. I nominate Machiavelli 2012.

Excellent book, it was a main source for one my essay's first semester, its a very insightful book for one that was written such a long time ago

[619]

On a unrelated note, I'm reading The Prince right now. I nominate Machiavelli 2012.

I purchased the book for a European history class I had last semester, for all that I never came around to reading it in its entirety yet. The political/philosophical tone of his writings really isn't my kinda thing, but I realize I could stand to learn much about where current governing principles may have originated from, as his book is still very analogous in some forms to current states of political conflict around the world. Machiavelli was really ahead of his time for a late medieval thinker.

[TitleTown088]

Machiavelli was really ahead of his time for a late medieval thinker.

I don't know if you can really say he was ahead of his time when many of his 'theories' of government came from his observation antiquity, like much Renaissance thinking did. For example, in the Prince he draws heavily on the Greek and Roman methods of governance. Surely much of it came from his observation of contemporaries like the Medici but Renaissance= huge emphasis recovery of the classics. Especially for the humanists, which some argue Machiavelli was.

[TitleTown088]

Machiavelli was really ahead of his time for a late medieval thinker.

I don't know if you can really say he was ahead of his time when many of his 'theories' of government came from his observation antiquity, like much Renaissance thinking did. Surely much of it came from his observation of contemporaries like the Medici but Renaissance= huge emphasis recovery of the classics, especially for the humanists.

I feel like people sometimes mistake the Renaissance for a period of only " new" learning when in fact it was largely based on the recovery of classical knowledge that had been previously lost to much of Europe(not the East they still knew the Greek) in the "dark ages".

[Giantsfan1080]

Hence Renaissance meaning Rebirth.

[619]

I don't know if you can really say he was ahead of his time when many of his 'theories' of government came from his observation antiquity, like much Renaissance thinking did. Surely much of it came from his observation of contemporaries like the Medici but Renaissance= huge emphasis recovery of the classics, especially for the humanists.

I feel like people sometimes mistake the Renaissance for a period of only " new" learning when in fact it was largely based on the recovery of classical knowledge that had been previously lost to much of Europe(not the East they still knew the Greek) in the "dark ages".

That was a brain fart on my part, Machiavelli was most definitely a Renaissance man, and not associated with any medieval period lol. You're right, the Renaissance does often suffer from these misconceptions, and I'm just as much at fault for it.

Let's then say he revived much of the previously lost or forgotten political theories. History is weird that way, it goes through its own cyclical revivals of classical knowledge. Even moreso in the postmodern era, and much before that as well, with the rise of archaeology in aiding historical interpretation and study. That's why I love historiography.

[619]

Forgive me, I made a common undergraduate error ... :)

You guys can definitely teach me a thing or two.

[TitleTown088]

Forgive me, I made a common undergraduate error ... :)

You guys can definitely teach me a thing or two.

I've had profs who I felt had a bad understanding of what went on during the Renaissance. Listening to my art history proff try to explain the Renaissance was downright painful. I think I have a somewhat solid understanding of the period because I had an excellent history professor on the subject. Not that I'm any type of scholar on the subject though, haha.

It's funny how much history you learned in High school from your basketball coach/history teacher and textbooks was complete BS.

[bearsfan_51]

The first thing I tell my intro students is to forget everything they "learned" in high school. I think the consensus in academia is that it would be better if there were no history taught before college at all.

[bearsfan_51]

History is weird that way, it goes through its own cyclical revivals of classical knowledge. Even moreso in the postmodern era, and much before that as well, with the rise of archaeology in aiding historical interpretation and study. That's why I love historiography.

I would argue that almost everything is cyclical in terms of conventional thought, historians are just much more aware of it, because that's our job.

[bearsfan_51]

On a unrelated note, I'm reading The Prince right now. I nominate Machiavelli 2012.

You would.

[TitleTown088]

You would.

What's your beef w Niccolo?

BTW, you know of any online databases for early Medieval maps,or slightly earlier? I'm doing a research project on early medieval England and the only ones I can find are from the university of Texas website.

[Giantsfan1080]

Here you go:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbookmap.html

Site that I used at Rutgers a lot.

[TitleTown088]

Here you go:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbookmap.html

Site that I used at Rutgers a lot.

Ya I found that one already too, Didn't find quiet what I needed. Thanks though.

[tjsunstein]

Ya I found that one already too, Didn't find quiet what I needed. Thanks though.

Quite? ;)

Finally getting out of the renaissance in World Civ. 2. Time to move to Asia to get caught up with the time period. Should be interesting.