This seminar-style course examines the history and development of the papacy ca. 1500 to today, i.e., from Julius II and Michelangelo, to the French Revolution, to encyclicals and Catholic Social Teaching, to the Second Vatican Council, and to the itinerant, global papacy from Paul VI to Francis. Emphasis on changing expectations of what popes do and how they do it. Reading and discussion of primary sources, as well as key examples of recent work on these topics.