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IDH 2930 (Un) common Reads Fall 2019

Leonardo: The Man, the Myth, and the Legacy

“…he labored much more in his word than in fact or deed.”

Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Artists

Professor Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis

Fall 2019 617 Carr Hall

bsmocovi@ufl.edu Website: http://people.clas.ufl.edu/bsmocovi/

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IDH 2930 (Un) common Reads: Walter Isaacson, Leonardo da Vinci, Simon and Schuster, 2017

Professor Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis Fall 2019 Section 0340 Meeting Time (5:10-6:00 pm) Tuesday (T Period 10) 119 Hume Hall (Honors College) Office Hours: Wednesday 12-2 pm, or by appointment 617 Carr Hall bsmocovi@ufl.edu Website: http://people.clas.ufl.edu/bsmocovi/ Introduction and Description of Course:

Leonardo da Vinci. The name needs no introduction. It has come to be synonymous with the image of the “Rennaisance Man,” the quintessential “genius,” embodying the breadth of interest, skill, wisdom, and achievements that have come to represent an entire age and that continues to inspire us. But how much of this is based on his actual achievements in historical context, and how much of this has been the product of successive mythologizing, and reinvention, given the many contemporaries and abundant followers who have used Leonardo to represent different traditions and disciplines? Who was the actual Leonardo, what were his achievements, how much do we actually know about him, and how, furthermore, has his legacy inspired similar creative efforts? The proposed (un)common reading course is intended as an introduction to the life of Leonardo, and to attempt to answer some of these questions on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his death. The goal is to survey his achievements, in art, science, performance, and engineering, paying special attention to his legacy in terms of the many people who were part of preserving it, or were inspired by it, or who depicted it. The course focuses on the new biography written by Walter Isaacson, who draws on some of the most recent scholarly insights on the historical figure of Leonardo, but also on his own past work as biographer of well-known figures associated with modern invention, innovation and imagination such as Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing, and Steve Jobs. The course will use some additional reading material that includes primary sources such as Leonardo’s famed notebooks and will view films and videos available, as well as exploring his presence in popular culture. Emphasis in the course is placed on understanding (inter-multi-trans and -pan) disciplinarity, creativity, imagination, invention, innovation, as well as the making of iconic figures.

Course Structure:

This is an interdiscipinary one-credit course. It focuses on careful reading of the primary book, some additional readings and the viewings of films and exhibits available on-line. The course requires full attendance and participation for 40 per cent of the grade. Students will be required to write a one- paragraph summary/response interrogating the readings each week as a way of preparing for discussion in class (for 30 per cent of the grade), and a final powerpoint presentation in class (for 30 per cent of the grade). The topic of the presentation may be on some aspect of Leonardo’s life, his work, or his legacy; students are encouraged to

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explore their own interests in light of Leonardo for this presentation and in in-class discussions.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF TOPICS, READINGS, AND ASSIGNMENTS

Week One (August 20th): Introduction to Leonardo

Week Two (August 27):

Leonardo: Early Life Readings: Isaacson, Introduction and Chapters 1-2.

Week Three (September 3):

Leonardo’s Personal Life and Habits Reading: Chapters 3-5.

Week Four (September 10):

Viewing Week (No Class): The Renaissance, Part I. Documentary Film (42 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmHTQsxxkPk

The Renaissance, Part II.

Documentary Film (42 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LMUWV1Tacs

Week Five (September 17): Leonardo’s Personal Life and Habits (continued)

Readings: Isaacson, Chapters 6-9

Week Six (September 24): Science and Engineering Readings: Isaacson, Chapters 10-13

Week Seven (October 1): “Man” and Art

Readings: Isaacson, Chapters 14-16

Week Eight (October 8): The Science of Perspective Readings: Isaacson, Chapters 17-18

Week Nine (October 15): Personal Life

Readings: Isaacson, Chapters 19-22

Week Ten (October 22): The Art of War Readings: Isaacson, Chapters 23-26

Week Eleven (October 29): The Anatomy of Man and the Microcosm

Readings: Isaacson, Chapters 27-29

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Week Twelve (November 5): The Mona Lisa and the End Readings: Isaacson, Chapters 30-33

Week Thirteen (November 12): In Class Powerpoint Presentations

Week Fourteen (November 19): In Class Powerpoint Presentations

Week Fifteen (Thanksgiving Break)

Week Sixteen (December 3): Leonardo, the Man, the Myth and Legacy. Summation

RESOURCES

Notebooks:

http://www.openculture.com/2017/07/leonardo-da-vincis-visionary-notebooks-now-online-browse-570-digitized-pages.html

Anatomical Drawings

https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/leonardo-da-vinci/the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace

Top 10 Facts: Leonardo da Vinci//Top Facts Documentary (1:45 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh3AzejPS9U

His Life…in Three Minutes: Documentary Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-h32XpDYBw

Technology Documentary Film (44 minutes).: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzPKEO-0y0k

Lady with Ermine (New Technologies) Documentary Film (2:45): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORXBPIEmqBs

The Last Supper, Documentary Film (42 minutes): What did Leonardo’s “Last Supper” Really Look Like? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pJD5HtlKwg

Mona Lisa Documentary Film (4 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IitbJszd1kM

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Unknown Leonardo’s Documentary Film. What Made the Da Vinci Painting Worth 450 million (4 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQF6QFEY4Ps The Discovery and Restoration of Leonardo’s Long Lost Painting Salvador Mundi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MFL6RDfCms Inside the Mind of Leonardo (Documentary of 1.5 hours) https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2i90yp

Biosketch of Instructor:

Professor Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis is a broadly trained historian of science. For fifteen years, she taught the popular course titled The History of Science from the Renaissance to the Present (HIS 3464) in the UF History Department. She is currently convener of the UF Intersection Mellon Grant titled “Imagineering and the Technosphere” where she is exploring the intersecting themes of invention, innovation, creativity and imagination in the figures of Leonardo, Tesla, and Jobs. She has taught a range of courses in the history of science for the Honors Program, served as Dunlevie Professor, and was Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar as well as the 16th Distinguished Alumni Professor at UF. In 2012, she was awarded the Joseph H. Hazen Education Prize by the History of Science Society. She holds a joint appointment at UF in the Biology department and in the History department. Her last (Un)common Reading course focused on Margot Shetterly’s Hidden Figures.

Leonardo, Possible Self-portrait

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Leonardo, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

Leonardo DiCaprio

PLEASE NOTE: Only approved electronic devices may be used in class. Approved electronic devices are laptop computers (when used to take notes or otherwise participate in classroom activities) and voice recording devices. Unapproved electronic devices include cell phones, video recorders, digital cameras and MP3 players.

UF Counseling Services • Resources are available on-campus for students having personal problems or lacking

clear career and academic goals. The resources include:

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o UF Counseling & Wellness Center, 3190 Radio Rd, 392-1575, psychological and psychiatric services.

o Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601, career and job search services. • Many students experience test anxiety and other stress related problems. “A Self Help

Guide for Students” is available through the Counseling Center (301 Peabody Hall, 392-1575) and at their web site: http://www.counsel.ufl.edu/.

Honesty Policy

• All students registered at the University of Florida have agreed to comply with the following statement: “I understand that the University of Florida expects its students to be honest in all their academic work. I agree to adhere to this commitment to academic honesty and understand that my failure to comply with this commitment may result in disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the University.”

• In addition, on all work submitted for credit the following pledge is either required or implied: “On my honor I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.”

• If you witness any instances of academic dishonesty in this class, please notify the instructor or contact the Student Honor Court (392-1631) or Cheating Hotline (392-6999). For additional information on Academic Honesty, please refer to the University of Florida Academic Honesty Guidelines at: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/procedures/academicguide.html.

• Accommodation for Students with Disabilities

• Students who will require a classroom accommodation for a disability must contact the Dean of Students Office of Disability Resources, in Peabody 202 (phone: 352-392-1261). Please see the University of Florida Disability Resources website for more information at: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drp/services/.

• It is the policy of the University of Florida that the student, not the instructor, is responsible for arranging accommodations when needed. Once notification is complete, the Dean of Students Office of Disability Resources will work with the instructor to accommodate the student.

Software Use All faculty, staff and student of the University are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate.

Evaluations Please note: Students in this class are participating in the pilot evaluation of the new course evaluation system called GatorEvals. The new evaluation system is designed to be more informative to instructors

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so that teaching effectiveness is enhanced and to be more seamlessly linked to UF’s CANVAS learning management system. Students can complete their evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__ufl.bluera.com_ufl_&d=DwIGaQ&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=1qtWVKU2uNohMAWR5pYYVu0F_ty9jxk4wI-DcSEfmKub76k8eaDlYyGQkZMpCQZ6&m=KCQMaruvDccGkQ95LBWWejChKpHpd3olzGps63zo0Ao&s=2ry1lk1Sd2MT9xMTXgaRslOLmzE7-Mky8W2E_HUO3wQ&e= . Please note your other classes this semester may be evaluated in the current GatorRater online evaluation system at [https://evaluations.ufl.edu<https://evaluations.ufl.edu/]https://evaluations.ufl.edu<https://evaluations.ufl.edu/> . Thank you for serving as a partner in this important effort.