Machiavelli and Guicciardini

3 units

The development of modern political science in 16th-century Italy. We will address questions of both theory and methodology in Machiavelli's and Guicciardini's political visions. We will also pay close attention to the Florentine context of their work, as well as to the influence of historical examples, both classical and contemporary, in the development of their analyses. Finally, we will ask how the examples they set, and the theories they promulgate, can have resonance in addressing political questions in our own age. Readings in Italian or English; discussion in English.