VILLA ROUNDTABLE with BILL COOK

The Coudert Institute is thrilled to welcome back BILL COOK for a Villa Roundtable as he presents... Hope for Some New Beginnings: How The Renaissance followed the Black Death in Europe and How We Can Look for New Beginnings in Light of Covid.

In 1348, the Bubonic Plague killed about 1/3 of the population of Europe, and the Plague returned periodically for more than a century.  Still, despite the death and dislocation and disorientation, it was during the following 50 years that the Renaissance was born in Florence.  In this Villa Roundtable, Dr. Cook will explore how this unfolded and how understanding it may help us to look for ways to make great human progress after a grave human tragedy.

Bill Cook retired after 42 years as Distinguished Teaching Professor of History at the State University of New York at Geneseo.  While there, he authored several books and won three national teaching awards.  In retirement, he has used his experience in education to establish the Bill Cook Foundation, a 501(c)3 charity, to provide educational opportunities for children and young adults in more than 30 countries.  Among current projects are the completion of the first high school for girls in South Sudan and the creation and funding of a program for Down syndrome children in rural Peru near the city of Huanuco.

Bill Cook is the co-author of The Medieval World View (3rd edition, Oxford University Press).

He has made 9 courses for The Great Courses including ones on Dante, the History of the Catholic Church, and The World's Greatest Churches.