What shaped Western culture in the period 1300–1550 more: the Black Death’s emphasis on the
afterlife (the hereafter) or the Renaissance’s emphasis on human achievement (the here and now)?
Choose one of these and explain your perspective.
Start with a statement identifying your choice; this is your thesis. Then, support your choice with
specific examples from at least three of the following categories:
▪ significant individuals (e.g., political or religious leaders, innovators, explorers);
▪ characteristics of worldview (e.g., philosophy, religion);
▪ social institutions (e.g., social mores, practices, hierarchies);
▪ patronage (discuss the patrons, their motives, influence, and resulting products or
artifacts);
▪ the economies (e.g., changes, different economic systems, impact); and
▪ politics (e.g., forms of governance, power distributions, contests).
Sample Solution