The Art of Villainy: machiavelli and the Creation of the Fictional Villain

This panel will explore Machiavelli’s impact on villains from the early modern period to today, from Iago and Milton’s Satan to Lex Luthor, Voldemort and Tony Soprano. Machiavelli may have inspired these writers, but how have their own cultural backgrounds and historical contexts shaped their depiction of his ideas? This panel hopes to gain a better understanding of how our view of Machiavelli and our view of villainy have changed over the years. Please submit 250-300 word abstracts (MSWord) to Jackie Cameron at jackiec159@hotmail.com.