This course examines the thought of three of the most influential political writers of the Renaissance: Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini, and Benvenuto Cellini. Their ideas shaped the formation of the early modern state. It examines the background to their ideas in Renaissance Florence and the crisis of the republican tradition leading to Medici rule. Readings focus on the original texts of these writers, including (but not limited to) Machiavelli's PRINCE, Guicciardini's MAXIMS AND REFLECTIONS, and Cellini's PERSEUS.
