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| 3356386915 | Dante Alighieri | Divine Comedy= written in the vernacular. Describes hell, heaven, and purgatory with a great deal of humanism. Also portrays historical (the Roman poet, Virgil) and contemporary figures. It is theological and criticizes Church authority. Considered the "bridge" between Medieval literature and Renaissance because it shows characteristics of both. Dante is the first of the Tuscan Triumvirate | 0 | |
| 3356386916 | Geoffrey Chaucer | Canterbury Tales=a collection of tales from a variety of people from different social backgrounds. Shows humanism through their materialism, sensual and worldly interests | 1 | |
| 3356386917 | Petrarch | letters to figures of the past; love sonnets. Considered the "father of Italian humanism," he rejected scholasticism of the Middle Ages and argues for the recovery of classical manuscripts. His letters are largely political dialogues with former politicians, etc., while his love sonnets are very sensual, somewhat pornographic. He is one of the Tuscan Triumvirate | 2 | |
| 3356386918 | Giovanni Boccaccio | The Decameron= important because of the humanism predominant in the diaries of individuals fleeing the plague (Black Death); a very good description of the disease; one of the Tuscan Triumvirate | 3 | |
| 3356386919 | Baldassare Castiglione | The Courtier= seeks to train, discipline, and fashion young men into an ideal gentlemen, also referred to as a "Renaissance Man." This includes academics and physical training as well as dance, music, arts | 4 | |
| 3356386920 | Niccoli Machiavell | the Prince= Few books have had more influence on modern political thought and practice. Written to gain a post in Lorenzo the Magnificent's court, it teaches what it takes to be a good ruler. Teachings include that it is best to be loved and feared, that being able to conduct war is of utmost importance, that there is a time and place for cruelty and deception; that religious belief should not interfere with politics. A good govt is one that is effective and increases in power. It was very controversial, and gave rise to the famous quote, "the end justifies the means." | 5 | |
| 3356386921 | William Shakespeare | wrote drama (Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, the Merchant of Venice; Romero and Juliet, Julius Caesar). Each person is the master of his own fate. | 6 | |
| 3356386922 | Miguel de Cervantes | Don Quixote= In 16th century Spain, this humorous novel satirizes medieval chivalry by following the adventures of a knight who lives in a world of dreams seeking military glory. This idealistic character is balanced by his companion, Sancho, who represents realism. Ultimately, we realize there is a little of both in all of us as humans | 7 | |
| 3356386923 | Sir Thomas More | Utopia= a book about a fictitious island that is a pre-cursor to the modern idea of socialism or communism. It describes an earthly paradise. Private property, profit, greed, selfishness, etc. were all avoided. Religious freedom existed, that it was a society without priests was offensive to the Church. Utopia (meaning "no place") stood in stark contrast to his England and Europe, and serves as a model to strive toward. He was not Italian, but represents the northern renaissance, and he is one of the Christian Humanists | 8 | |
| 3356386924 | Desiderius Erasmus | In Praise of Folly= he ridicules the ignorance and superstition of his day. He wanted religious reform, and scorned the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church and clergy. He wanted to steer Christianity back to following the example of Christ. He put emphasis on education for everybody in society, not just wealthy men. He is also from the northern renaissance, a Christian Humanist | 9 | |
| 3356386925 | Hugo Grotius | The Laws of War and Peace. A Dutch intellectual, this book became the first great treatise on international law. He claimed that no scripture, religious teaching, or tradition should govern politics. He was condemned by both protestants and catholics. | 10 | |
| 3356386926 | Abbe Guillaume Raynal | Philosophical and Political History of European Colonies and Commerce in the Two Indies. Described in absolute detail the destruction of native populations by Europeans and denounced the slave trade. | 11 | |
| 3356386927 | Francis Bacon | The Advancement of Learning- predicted that the scientific method would lead to social progress | 12 | |
| 3356386928 | Rene Descartes | Discourse on Method- wanted the new science to be established on mathematics, logic, and philosophy. All prior assumptions must be rejected in favor of one principle, "I think, therefore I am." | 13 | |
| 3356386929 | Isaac Newton | Principia Mathematica- developed laws of gravity, physical laws of nature | 14 | |
| 3356386930 | Daniel Defoe | Robinson Crusoe; Moll Flanders- Robinson Crusoe is the story of the adventures of a shipwrecked sailor. Crusoe finds a black man, Friday, and his attitude toward him suggests the racism of the day | 15 | |
| 3356386931 | Bernard de Fontenelle | Conversations of the Plurality of Worlds- attempts to make science witty and entertaining for a broad non-scientific audience. | 16 | |
| 3356386932 | John Milton | Areopagitica- the most popular defense of freedom of the press ever written. Paradise Lost- a poem based on the Genesis account of the rebellion of Satan and fall of man | 17 | |
| 3356386933 | Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (Moliere) | Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (the bourgeois gentlemen); Les Precieuses ridicules (the pretentious young ladies) are comedies mocking the hypocrisies within the social classes | 18 | |
| 3356386934 | Pierre Bayle | Historical and Critical Dictionary- critically examined the religious beliefs and persecutions of the past. He was a skeptic, claiming that nothing can be known for absolute sure. In religion and philosophy, the best we could hope for was open-minded toleration. | 19 | |
| 3356386935 | Thomas Hobbes | Leviathan- defends absolute monarchy. In a state of nature, man's life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Social order must be maintained by absolutism in order for people to feel secure | 20 | |
| 3356386936 | John Locke | 2nd Treatise on Civil Government- thoroughly anti-absolutist, he denied the divine right of kings. He taught that people are by nature good, reasonable, and cooperative in a state of nature. This work served to justify the Glorious Revolution in England -Essay Concerning Human Understanding- all ideas are derived from experience. The human mind at birth is a blank slate, Tabula Rosa | 21 | |
| 3356386937 | Baron de Montesquieu | Persian Letters- social satire, questions and criticizes European customs by looking at them from the perspective of two travelers from Persia, Usbek and Rica -The Spirit of Laws- describes his ideal government, with a separation of powers | 22 | |
| 3356386938 | Francois Marie Arouet (Voltaire) | Candide- a thorough critic of the abuses of the clergy and Catholic Church, uses satire to criticize the church as well as absolutism and war. Refers to the church as the "infamous thing." | 23 | |
| 3356386939 | Jean Jacques Rousseau | the Social Contract- general will (the common interests of the people=popular sovereignty), displaces absolutism. -Emile- about education and child-rearing. Girls' education should focus on their future domestic responsibilities, marriage and child rearing. Boys' education should include practical crafts in addition to book learning | 24 | |
| 3356386940 | Denis Diderot | Encyclopedia: The Rational Dictionary of the Sciences, the Arts, and the Crafts- an attempt to teach people how to think critically and objectively about all matters, he wanted to "change the general way of thinking." | 25 | |
| 3356386941 | Mary Astell | A Serious Proposal to the Ladies- advocated founding a women's college to overcome women's lack of education, she questioned why women are content to be for "show" only, not contributing in society. | 26 | |
| 3356386942 | Immanuel Kant | in the Different Races of Man- proclaims white superiority- there are four races of humanity, all derived from an original "white" people -Critique of Pure Reason- One of the most important works in Western philosophy, it set the foundations for modern philosophy. True understanding comes from examining the way ideas are formed in the mind. | 27 | |
| 3356386943 | David Hume | Of Natural Characters- proclaims white superiority to other races. -The Natural History of Religion- belief in God had forever been based on fear and superstition, instead of reason. A Scottish thinker, also taught the mind consists of a bundle of impressions that originate in sense experience. Anything beyond sense experience (questions about God, etc.) we cannot know. His philosophy therefore is contrary to the Enlightenment's faith in reason.he undermined that attitude | 28 | |
| 3356386944 | Adam Smith | An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations- "the free pursuit of economic self interest," greed, was good for the economy. Laissez-faire= government should leave the economy alone. "Invisible Hand theory." | 29 | |
| 3356386945 | Beaumarchais | The Marriage of Figaro- a play where a servant gets the better of his noble employer. He claims about the nobility, "What have you done to deserve so many rewards? You went to the trouble of being born, and nothing more." Louis XVI forbade its production. | 30 | |
| 3356386946 | Thomas Paine | The Rights of Man- He advocates human rights, attacked the excesses of privilege, attacks the evils of government against man | 31 | |
| 3356386947 | Edmund Burke | Reflections of the Revolution in France- from England, opposes the Fr. Rev. and argues the case for tradition and reform by those already in control (aristocracy). he is definitely a conservative | 32 | |
| 3356386948 | Mary Wollstonecraft | A Vindication of the Rights of Women- the right of women should be respected. She wrote "I wish to persuade women to endeavor to acquire strength, both of mind and body." She had a high opinion of women's potential, suggesting they should manage businesses and enter politics. | 33 | |
| 3356386949 | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | The Sorrows of Young Werther- German poet and dramatist. True to the Romantic spirit of emotion, this story is about a young man who is happy with nature and rural life, but commits suicide when the women he loves marries someone else. -Faust- a medieval scholar sells his soul to the devil in return for earthly pleasure and wisdom | 34 | |
| 3356386950 | Victor Hugo | Hunchback of Notre Dame- France's greatest romantic poet and novelist. -Les Miserables- idealizes the masses of underprivileged, preaching their redemption through suffering | 35 | |
| 3356386951 | William Wordsworth | towering figure in English Romanticism. Wrote the poem Daffodils where the romantic spirit of love and nature are present | 36 | |
| 3356386952 | Sir Walter Scott | fascinated with the Romantic movement's interest in history, he wrote of bygone ages (Middle Ages and Scotland mainly) and of great historical events. | 37 | |
| 3356386953 | George Gordon, Lord Byron | Romantic poet who celebrated emotion. Became fascinated by Greece where he died. | 38 | |
| 3356386954 | Mary Shelley | Frankenstein- an example of the extremes of some romantics | 39 | |
| 3356386955 | Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels | Communist Manifesto- this laid out the principles of Marxism. Class struggle, future revolution, the working class overthrowing the middle class bourgois is all there | 40 | |
| 3356386956 | Charles Dickens | Oliver Twist, Christmas Carol, Hard Time- wrote novels that came out in monthly installments and were popular, he paid close attention to the adverse effects of industrialization and urbanization | 41 | |
| 3356386957 | Charlotte Bronte | Jane Eyre describes the bleaker side of women's situations | 42 | |
| 3356386958 | George Sand (a women who used this pen name) | Shelia, Indiana- This women's individualism was shockingly modern- she dressed like a man and smoked cigars, she wrote over 80 novels about women who prevail in difficult circumstances. Her name became a common expression of disdain for independent women | 43 | |
| 3356386959 | Honore de Balzac | The Human Comedy; Pere Goriot- depicts thousands of French characters from all sectors of society | 44 | |
| 3356386960 | Gustave Flaubert | Madame Bovary-story of a bored housewife who has numerous affairs and eventually commits suicide. It is a candid picture of women's sexuality, and it was scandalous. | 45 | |
| 3356386961 | Emile Zola | Women's Paradise- wrote negatively about how industrial society affected individuals. In this work, a shopper abandons appropriate behavior for the frenzy of the new shopping centers. | 46 | |
| 3356386962 | Fyodor Dostoevsky | Crime and Punishment; The Brothers Karamazov- shows the dark side of "antiheroes," who are usually tormented, even criminal. In Brothers, four brothers work to destroy their father | 47 | |
| 3356386963 | August Comte | System of Positive Politics- through observation and objective study (like science), people can solve the problems of economic and social changes. This created the idea of "Positivism" or the "Positive Method." | 48 | |
| 3356386964 | John Stuart Mill | On Liberty- argued for the improvement of society, widespread reform, and mass education -On the Subjection of Women- The family system is despotic and women's obedience to it is a sham. The book led a growing movement committed to obtaining basic rights for women | 49 | |
| 3356386965 | Charles Darwin | On the Origins of Species- here evolution and survival of the fittest (or natural selection) are taught | 50 | |
| 3356386966 | Sigmund Freud | The Interpretations of Dreams- "father of psychoanalysis," teaches the id, ego, superego as well as many problems faced in adulthood originate in childhood experiences | 51 | |
| 3356386967 | Erich Maria Remarque | All Quiet on the Western Front- international best seller depicts the life of soldiers during WWI | 52 | |
| 4396432242 | James Joyce | Ulysses- representative of a new method of using a character's thoughts to propel a story called "stream of consciousness," this is a parallel between Joyce's hero who wanders aimlessly through the streets of Dublin, Ireland and the adventures of Homer's Ulysses on his way home from Troy. | 53 | |
| 3356386968 | Oswald Spengler | The Decline of the West- says WWI was the beginning of the decline of the West | 54 | |
| 3356386969 | Rudyard Kipling | Jungle Book, The White Man's Burden (justified imperialism), The Man who would be King | 55 | |
| 3356386970 | George Orwell | 1984- set in the future, where a totalitarian state uses new technology, individuals cannot escape the scrutiny of "big brother." A couple's love affair leads to their arrest | 56 | |
| 3356386971 | Anne Frank | Diary of ________- the story of a teenage girl hidden in Amsterdam, Holland during WWII | 57 | |
| 3356386972 | Boris Pasternak | Doctor Zhivago- a powerful challenge to communism, written in Russia but published in Italy. The hero rejects the violence and brutality of the Russian Rev. and the Stalinist years. Even as the character is destroyed, he triumphs because of his humanity and Christianity. He was denounced. | 58 | |
| 3356386973 | Albert Camus | The Stranger, The Plague- as a post-WWII existentialist philosopher, he explored the meaning of human existence in a world of evil. His writings show an absence of God and the breakdown of morality. An individual's existence depended on his actions and choices | 59 | |
| 3356386974 | Simone de Beauvoir | The Second Sex- She taught most women had devoted themselves to just having children, and suffered from having no accomplishment. Women were passive, but they should assert themselves | 60 | |
| 3356386975 | Ray Bradbury | Fahrenheit 451- the temperature at which books will burn, condemned censorship of intellectual freedom during the Cold War | 61 | |
| 3356386976 | Ian Fleming | Casino Royale- introduced the British intelligence agent named James Bond who fought against communism and other political villains | 62 | |
| 3356386977 | Alexander Solzhenitsyn | The Gulag Archipelago- his story of Russian gulags (prison work camps) under Stalin | 63 | |
| 3356386978 | Salman Rushdie | The Satanic Verses- as an immigrant from India, this book ignited outrage among Muslims around the world because it appeared to blaspheme the prophet Mohammed. The Ayatollah Khomeini promised monetary reward to anyone who would assassinate the writer. | 64 |
