Niccolò Machiavelli continues to be one of the most discussed, debated, denounced, and secretly admired thinkers in the fields of management and leadership.  His original and starkly realistic theory of leadership ignores all considerations of ethics and religion in favor of a laser-like focus on how to get, keep, and wield power.  It was shocking 500 years ago and continues to shock today,

This seminar will provide some of the historical and cultural background for Machiavelli’s emergence as one of the greatest thinkers and literary figures of the Italian Renaissance.  And it will introduce students to the wide array of his output, focusing mainly on his notorious The Prince, but also referring to the more theoretical Discourses on Livy and his hilarious and wildly successful play, The Mandrake Root.

We will take special note of the applicability of his ideas to today’s corporate manager, and to the defensibility of his ideas.

No background knowledge will be assumed, and there are no course prerequisites.

Two-day seminar. Attendance Friday Evening and Saturday Day required. 

Faculty: David Wilson

Undergraduate On-Ground Seminar: MNGT 3100 08

Graduate On-Ground Seminar: MNGT 5500 08

Advanced Registration Required:

www.webster.edu/academics/registration