This course examines the literary and cultural world of Florence in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, focusing on rulers such as Lorenzo, Alessandro, and Cosimo I de' Medici. Students will examine a variety of texts and cultural products (e.g., artworks, poetry, narratives, history and biography, theatred, as well as manuscripts and printed books) to learn about the socio-political realities of the time as well as the importance of gender, sexuality, religion, and racial difference in premodern Florence.