Program Overview

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Centre for Continuing Education

The Centre for Continuing Education at the University of Sydney offers a diverse range of professional development short courses. These courses are designed to enhance professional development, grow technical and people skills, and support career progression.

Course Subjects

The Centre offers courses in various subjects, including:

• Business and management
  • Business communication
  • Business strategy
  • Business writing
  • Cultural competence and diversity
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Management
  • Organisational psychology
  • Sales and customer service
• English
• HSC preparation (years 10-12)
  • HSC biology
  • HSC business studies
  • HSC chemistry
  • HSC economics
  • HSC English
  • HSC mathematics
  • HSC physics
  • Year 11 (Revision)
  • Years 10-12 study and essay skills
• Humanities and culture
  • Creative writing
  • Music
  • Philosophy
  • Psychology
• Information technology
  • Adobe
  • AI and machine learning courses
  • Data analysis and analytics
  • Google
  • Microsoft
• Language
  • Arabic
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Chinese
  • French
  • German
  • Greek
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Spanish
• Marketing
  • Digital marketing
  • Marketing communications
  • Product development
• Project management
  • Agile methodology courses
  • Change management for projects
  • Stakeholder and people management
  • Technical project management skills

Philosophy Course: Machiavelli and Political Philosophy

This course explores Machiavelli's philosophy, focusing on his most famous work, The Prince. It examines his ideas on human nature, power, free will, love, politics, and the role of deception, violence, and ethics in modern society.

Course Aims

The course aims to:

• Provide an understanding of Machiavelli's philosophy
• Explore the history of Machiavelli's life and its influence on contemporary politics
• Facilitate discussion on political reality, human nature, free will, power, and ethics
• Discuss the role of violence and deception in politics
• Promote discussion on the political and ethical implications of Machiavelli's ideas

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

• Discuss Machiavelli's works, including The Prince, The Discourses, and The Art of War
• Recognize and discuss Machiavelli's views in philosophical history and contemporary literature
• Apply Machiavelli's ideas to social issues, such as personal relationships and workplace dynamics
• Better understand politics in general

Course Content

The course covers:

• Introduction to Machiavelli's life and times
• The Prince
• Machiavelli on violence and the law
• 'Fortuna' and free will
• Machiavelli's psychology
• Liberty and the people
• Machiavelli in love
• Machiavelli the writer
• Radical Machiavelli for now
• The Machiavellian intelligence

Intended Audience

This course is designed for anyone with a general interest in the course themes.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Delivery Style

The course is delivered in a lecture/seminar style.

Materials

Course notes are provided electronically using Dropbox.

Organisational Training

The Centre also offers organisational training and development, designed for workplace needs. Courses can be tailored to meet the specific needs of organisations.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions about applications, payment, short courses, and more are available.

About Us

The Centre for Continuing Education is part of the University of Sydney, offering courses since 1886. It provides a diverse range of professional development short courses, designed to enhance professional development, grow technical and people skills, and support career progression.