Academic Forum

A collection of essays written while studying abroad at the CSU Florence Center, and while pursuing my B.A. degree in History with a minor in Applied Anthropology at CSUN.

Michelangelo Buonarotti

This essay will discuss the topic of Michelangelo Buonarotti’s relationship with the Medici family during the time of the Renaissance. The motives and political meanings behind several of his artworks will be analyzed in order to identify moments when he was in favor of and against the Medici reign.

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Niccolo Machiavelli

This essay will discuss the topic of the Italian diplomat and political theorist, Niccolo Machiavelli, and his book The Prince. I will identify Machiavelli and his philosophy, as well as analyze the contents of his political treatise.

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The Scientific Revolution

This essay will address the topic of the Scientific Revolution during the 16th and 17th centuries and its significance. In particular, the discoveries and theories of Nicolaus Copernicus, Giordano Bruno, and Isaac Newton will be discussed.

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Humanism

This essay will discuss the topic of Renaissance humanism along with its most influential writers, Petrarch and Pico. The ideology within humanism will be explained in depth, as well as the influence Petrarch and Pico had over the time period. A few of their works will be analyzed and I will give my own thoughts and opinions on the subject matter.

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Galileo Galilei

This short essay summarizes the life and accomplishments of renowned Renaissance thinker, Galileo Galilei, as well as a brief description of his relationship with the Medici and the Church.

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CIA Covert Operations

This essay will analyze the ideological, political, and strategic justifications for CIA covert operations particularly with the intervention of the Italian elections of 1948, Project Ajax, and Operation Mongoose.

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The American Revolution

This essay addresses the significance of differing viewpoints of the people, motives, and experiences that contributed to the American Revolution, and how a stronger interpretation of the historical event can be created.

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The Age of Revolutions

This essay answers the prompt, “In the Age of Revolutions, people on both sides of the Atlantic fought for and won greater liberty and equality,” based on Nathan Perl-Rosenthal's novel, The Age of Revolutions. References are made to the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions.