David, completed in 1504 by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti (1475-1564), is considered as one of the world's great artistic creations.  Michelangelo later commented on his statue: "A civic hero, he was a warning... whoever governed Florence should govern justly and defend it bravely. Eyes watchful... the neck of a bull... hands of a killer... the body, a reservoir of energy. He stands poised to strike."  Photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons.

• Read chapter 12 in the textbook.
• Read my notes on the Renaissance.
• Study the Questions to Consider and the Key Terms for the unit.
• Post (or respond) your thoughts/ideas about this unit's reading and assignment in the Blackboard online discussion forum. Do not post your assignment there.

• Read Niccolo Machiavelli The Prince, if you are going to submit the optional Machiavelli paper.
• Submit the Optional Machiavelli paper.  If you don't understand why I call this an optional paper, take a look at the Explanation of Assignments and Grading
• Listen to some further information about this unit as a mp3 file.  You can also read the information as a txt file.

• Leonardo da Vinci
• Michelangelo's Moses
• Michelangelo's Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
• Michelangelo (biography)
• Michelalngelo Revealed
• A History Of European Art 21 - The High Renaissance - Raphael
• Raphael's School of Athens
• Leonardo's Last Supper
• Leonardo da Vinci (biography)
• Leonardo Da Vinci - 1of10 (History Channel)
• All about the Renaissance Part 01 Historical Background Beginnings and Art
• Unit 1.2 4 Italian Renaissance Art
• Machiavelli and the Prince
• Steven B. Smith - Yale, Machiavelli, The Prince
• Machiavelli • The Prince • The Common Sense of Politics (full documentary)
• The Renaissance: Was it a Thing? - Crash Course World History #22
• For extra credit please suggest to your instructor a relevant video for this unit of the course. Send the title of the video, the url and a brief explanation of why you find the video interesting and applicable to the material that is being studied in this unit.

• Take the short 5-point quiz for chapter 12. Log into Blackboard and look under "Chapter Quizzes." You have five minutes to complete each quiz (multiple-choice questions).
• In a one-page paper, assess the significance of the Medici family for Renaissance Florence for a maximum of 50 points extra credit.
• For a maximum of 25 points extra credit, read the excerpts from Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), Leonardo da Vinci, and write a long paragraph in which you explain how da Vinci was a perfect expression of the Renaissance ideal.
• For extra credit of a maximum of 10 points, you can submit the answers to the Machiavelli study questions.  Please write in formal, complete sentences.
• For extra credit, please suggest a relevant website for this unit of the course.  Send the title of the site, the url and a brief explanation why you find the information interesting and applicable to the material being studied this unit.