Gregory Barber

ALT Each spring, Palmer tries to impart this lesson to her students by having them simulate a 15th-century papal conclave. She assigns them the roles of cardinals, monarchs, and assorted hangers-on, all jockeying to put their guy on the Throne of Saint Peter. She gives them note cards detailing the allegiances they hold, the favors they can trade, the children they can marry off. She expects them to reenact the proceedings with authentic ruthlessness—and with deference to the wishes of the characters they inhabit. For the actual election, they all gather in a faux-Gothic chapel on campus. Palmer gives them costumes, some of which she gets on eBay from old Shakespeare productions, some of which she sews herself. Certain contours of the conclaves remain the same from year to year: The festering corruption of the Catholic Church always bursts into the open. The great powers of Europe always put themselves on a path toward war. Some faction comes close to clinching the vote, only to fall short