Utopia and Science in the Seventeenth century

In this course we will shed some light on the concepts of Utopia and Science, two of the central themes of the Seventeenth century. These concepts are both oppositional and complimentary: if Utopia represents a place of happiness or a nowhere (either a flight to the future or a nostalgic glance toward the past), the scientific method and the discoveries related to it, even while marking the refusal of any escape from reality, have had a great impact on how the great utopias were conceived and represented. Through readings of several works of that time, we will also examine how the concepts of Utopia and Science were employed in opposition to the oppressive nature of Counter-Reformation politics and the Rights of State (Ragion di Stato, in which any action is legitimate if beneficial to
those in power), the two prevailing ideological systems of seventeenth century Europe. In addition, we will read some poetic works, like those of Marino, which take as their
inspiration some of the new scientific discoveries and utopian ideals of the age.

Required texts: Campanella, La città del sole. Milano: Feltrinelli, 2003; B. Brecht, Vita di Galileo. Torino: Einaudi Tascabili, 2005.
A course-pack in a CD format will be available.