David A. Lines, The Dynamics of Learning in Early Modern Italy. Arts and Medicine at the University of Bologna. I Tatti Studies in Italian Renaissance History. Cambridge, MA, and London: Harvard University Press, 2023

Abstract

Abstract This chapter provides a commentary on David Lines’s The Dynamics of Learning in Early Modern Italy. Arts and Medicine at the University of Bologna (2023). This book on the history of the University of Bologna presents an excellent overview of the activity of the studium from its first formal statutes in the fifteenth century to its developments in the late eighteenth century. Lines examines the centuries-long unfolding of a multifaceted institution, building convincing arguments about the gradual but continuous changes that affected teachings in the arts, medicine, and theology. Questioning Bologna’s political, cultural, and spiritual subjugation to Rome, he moves towards a new understanding of centre-periphery relationships within the Papal States, uncovering oscillating dynamics between the university, the city, and the Papacy. Crossing disciplinary boundaries, Lines’s book offers insights into the social history of universities and urban areas; the history of philosophy, science, and medicine; Renaissance studies; and the history of the book.