This course will focus on a major intellectual controversy of the 17th and 18th centuries known as the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns. Through close readings of seminal texts we will address issues pertaining to the historical significance of the Quarrel, its sociopolitical implications, and the role it played in the cultural and scientific evolution of early modern Europe. We will approach the Quarrel as a critical moment in the prehistory of modernity that resulted in a redefinition of concepts such as mimesis and originality, tradition and innovation, decline and progress.
