Index # 08765
Will NOT Count Towards Italian MAJOR
Will Count Towards Italian MINOR
The third and definitive edition of the New Science (1744) by Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) is a learned and ambitious attempt to decipher the history, mythology, and laws of the ancient world; and its powerful analysis influenced thinkers and writers as varied as Herder, Karl Marx, Nietzsche, and James Joyce. Using my 1999 Penguin translation as the textbook, we will undertake a close reading of this astonishingly prescient work. Based on Anthony Grafton’s insightful preface to the edition, preliminary lectures will situate the Neapolitan philosopher and his various writings in the context of early modern historiography and biblical studies, with an emphasis on his universal chronology and the central role of Roman civilization. While each of Vico’s five books will be analyzed in detail, Book 1, “Establishing Principles,” and Book 2, “Poetic Wisdom,” will be given the most thorough scrutiny. Class requirements will include two oral reports and two papers.
Studying one of the great classics of intellectual reasoning provides a foundation for anyone pursuing philosophy, history, sociology, religious studies, and the origins of what we call today the social sciences – the scientific method applied to human civilizations. Be ready to think hard with others and explore the range of knowledge from early modern physics to poetics, astronomy, literature, law, politics, and theology.
About Professor Marsh
[instructor bio]