English Class Rocks!

Though it is anyone’s guess how many people have actually read The Prince, Machiavelli has entered our language – according The American Heritage Dictionary, Machiavellian means “suggestive of or characterized by expediency, deceit and cunning” and carries a very negative connotation. Does Machiavelli deserve the negative connotation attached to his name?  Why or why not?

Should a leader be above the rules or should they be expected to adhere to the same laws their citizens obey?  (Again – when answering this question please give me your thoughts and what Machiavelli would say.)

Which is more important for a nation – stability or ethics?  Why?  In answering this question, please give me what you think and what Machiavelli would say.

Since we only have one semester together, we simply do not have enough class time to cover all the masterpieces I would love to talk about.  Therefore we will be reading Machiavelli’s The Prince and More’s Utopia as independent reads and discussing them through this blog.  We will be using this blog to connect these books with some of the big ideas that surface during our class discussions about other texts.

    Your participation in this blog will count towards your class participation grade.  A new question will be posted every Thursday and you will have 1 week to comment on the question.  You can (and should) be reading the comments posted by your classmates as well.