Section | Class Size | *Available | Times | POI | Prereq |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 20 | 13 | Times: M.W.F.. 10:00AM-10:50AM; | No | No |
This course will examine the career of Niccolo Machiavelli from the perspective of the actively engaged form of civic humanism that he practiced as a Florentine political figure, historian, and literary author in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Because Machiavelli's work cuts across scholarly boundaries, the course will explore the particular character of this Italian humanist's legacy from an interdisciplinary point of view. It will begin with The Prince and The Discourses, reading these two texts as quite distinct but inseparable aspects of Machiavelli's political philosophy. The Florentine History will then provide a model for understanding Machiavelli's historiography. The two comedies, Mandragola and Clizia, written toward the end of Machiavelli's life, are vivid pictures of Florentine civic life and illustrate in literary terms important aspects of what their author's earlier literary and historiographical work had aimed to promote. Throughout the semester selections from Machiavelli's extensive correspondence will be read to situate the production of his books and plays within the life from which they emerged.
COURSE FORMAT: Discussion Lecture
Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: HA RLIT
Prerequisites: None
Last Updated on MAR-22-1999
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