Undergraduate Course: Machiavelli and His World (HIST10361)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | History |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | The Florentine writer and political theorist Nicoḷ Machiavelli is one of the most original and controversial figures of the Italian Renaissance. His writings offer a stimulating and highly personal introduction to the troubled history of Italy during c. 1450-c.1530 and provide an introduction to the major themes of Renaissance culture from political duplicity and friendship to gender relations and the art of war. In this course students examine a wide range of Machiavelli's readings and place them in historical context in order better to understand Machiavelli and his remarkable world. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting Students should usually have at least 3 History courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: 24 |
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
13/01/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
|
| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
67 %,
Coursework
33 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours:Minutes |
|
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Paper 1 | 2:00 | | |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course students will:
-be able to understand, and to evaluate the works of Nicoḷ Machiavelli, while developing critical awareness of the historical context in which they were written;
-be able to study printed primary sources in translation in conjunction with core secondary reading;
-be able to examine Machiavelli and Renaissance Italians through the works they produced and in doing so consider the distinctive methodological features of cultural and intellectual history and consider how abstraction can be related to people doing things in the past;
-have demonstrated the above skills by way of essay, examination and participation in class seminars.
|
Assessment Information
| One essay of 2,500-3,000 words (one-third of overall assessment); one two-hour examination paper (two-thirds of overall assessment) |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
1. Introducing Machiavelli
2. Machiavelli and Florence: The Florentine Histories
3. Machiavelli and the Prophet: Savonarola and the New Jerusalem
4. Machiavelli the Diplomat
5. Machiavelli and the Medici: The Prince
6. Machiavellian Republicanism: The Discourses
7. Film: La Mandragola
8. Machiavelli and Women
9. Machiavelli the Soldier: The Art of War
10. Machiavelli and His Critics
11. Machiavelli and the Modern World
|
| Transferable skills |
Critical interpretation of texts; oral and written presentation skills |
| Reading list |
Primary sources:
N. Machiavelli, The Prince (Penguin Pbk)
-- The Discourses (Penguin Pbk)
-- The Florentine Histories, in The Chief Works, trans. A Gilbert
-- The Art of War, in English translation of 1595 available digitally in EEBO
-- The Mandrake Root / La mandragola (various editions)
-- Diplomatic dispatches, in The Chief Works, trans. A. Gilbert
|
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Machiavelli |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lucinda Byatt
Tel: (0131 6)51 1736
Email: Lucinda.Byatt@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Annabel Stobie
Tel: (0131 6)50
Email: Annabel.Stobie@ed.ac.uk |
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