Renaissance
Session 2: Machiavelli’s The Prince

Materials

• A copy of excerpts from Machiavelli’s The Prince (e.g., “It is better to be feared than loved”) for each student
• Teacher-developed list of Renaissance art terms and artists

Instructional Activities

1. Begin by having students consider the following question:
   
   What attributes make for a good leader?
   
   Explain that Machiavelli had some ideas on leadership that might surprise them.
   
   
2. Read the selected excerpts from The Prince as a class.
   
   
3. Divide students into small groups, and instruct them to write down modern-day scenarios/conflicts (in school, at work, in the news) and hypothesize how Machiavelli would advise dealing with those scenarios. The teacher may wish to give examples of these scenarios to expedite the process.
   
   
4. For homework, assign important Renaissance art terms and artists for students to identify.