Seminar: The Political Thought of Machiavelli

Topics include Machiavelli's views on Christianity and the role of religion in a state, his insistence on the centrality of foreign policy in defining the nature of a regime, his belief in the necessity of great individuals to found and reorder civilizations, and the relation between his claim to originality and his insistence that the ancient Roman republic is a model for imitation. Machiavelli and the transition from ancient to modern Western political philosophy. Recommendations: Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.