Machiavelli: Philosophy, Rhetoric, & History

Email can be such a wonderful thing.

I looked at my email just now and saw the following magical words:

"Machiavelli: Philosophy, Rhetoric, & History"

Wow! Whoever sent it has my attention now!

Sure, it was a long, long, long time ago that I wrote my senior college thesis on Machiavelli, but the Mach doesn't pass out of one's life quickly.

Anyway, it's the title of a conference at Yale University in October.

Ok, so I probably can't go but somehow, just writing about the conference jumpstarts my internal life of the mind, and allows me to take a brief break from the drudgery of every day life.

It probably seems like I am a Dante-head, given the semi-regular Dante Moment of the Day posts.

But I've actually spent much more time puzzling over Machiavelli's prose. Was he a republican thinker? A fascist? A devil? Well, I think he was definitely a devil, as in, "You little devil, you!"

He produced just about every type of writing there is -- essays, plays, diplomatic writings, treatises, historical works. And like many of the best writers, he spent some very bitter moments in exile.

Here's to Machiavelli! And here are the details of the conference, just in case you are luckier than I am, and can attend.

"Machiavelli: Philosophy, Rhetoric, & History"

A conference sponsored by Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University

Friday and Saturday, October 17 – 18, 2008


This conference will provide a venue for a broad interdisciplinary exploration of Machiavelli as a political philosopher, historian, and literary figure in his own time and beyond.

Sessions will explore Machiavelli’s thought as it related to the ancient world, to the historical imagination and history writing, and to public opinion in his own day and earlier epochs, as well as consider the critical study and evaluation of Machiavelli in the twentieth century.

Open to the public without charge, but registration is required

Details and registration information: http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/machiavelli