Machiavelli wanted to understand how political leaders could best obtain and hold power: this line of thinking was initially described domestically, though it had clear international implications. Italy was, at the time, carved into principalities: interactions among states were common.
Each of -1 and -2 will have two tasks tying Machiavelli’s masterwork, The Prince, due on January 16th.
The first will be described IN THIS POST. The second, for each, will be in an attached assignment.
As Machiavelli has been dead for a few centuries, his work is in the public domain. I’m attaching a copy of The Prince, but you can find one of your own choosing if you don’t like the formatting. There is NO OBLIGATION to read the whole thing: Read enough to get the gist about international theory, use online sources to gain an understanding, email me asking for insights, whatever works. But you MUST ENGAGE with the text.
Assignment 1:
You are an incoming prince to a region of Italy during the Renaissance. You are fortunate enough to have Machiavelli as your trusted hand. From the perspective of a prince, list 5 questions you would ask Machiavelli to rule effectively. From the perspective of Machiavelli, answer those questions with direct quotes from excerpts of The Prince. You must cite the specific chapter you get your quote from.
5 questions from the perspective of the ruler in the period (accurate/relevant) /30
5 answers in the form of direct quotes from The Prince (accurate/relevant) /35
Connections to the four motivations of nation(states) and/or the “isms” /35
(-2 students must do this 2 times only and each category will be halved = 50 marks)
Assignment 2:
-2 Assignment –> Niccolo Machiavelli Reading Activity
-1 Assignment –> theprincedashonetask
A copy of his text, The Prince:
Available here –>Prince-Adapted2
This journal article seems advanced but offers a good summary in 11 pages –> MachiavelliJournalArticle
