POT 4311 Problems of Democracy
Lorna Bracewell
Office: AND 301
[email protected]
Office Hours: Monday, 1:00-3:00pm
Fall 2014
Tel. 727.504.3344
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
In contemporary political parlance, to describe a regime as “democratic” is to
ascribe to that regime any number of desirable characteristics, including goodness,
legitimacy, prosperity, stability, and justice. To students of history and political theory,
this sanguine deportment toward all things democratic is peculiar, for political thinkers at
least since Plato have often regarded the idea of democracy with ambivalence and
suspicion. Even democracy’s proponents have been closely attuned to the vexing
paradoxes – the problems, if you will – roiling at the heart of their cherished political
ideal.
In this course, students will consider a sampling of classic and contemporary
literature on problems in democratic theory. The course’s aims are modest. We will
emphatically not strive to reach definitive conclusions about the definition of democracy
or its merits as a political ideal. Rather, we will explore fundamental dilemmas in
democratic theory and consider various attempts political thinkers, both contemporary
and historical, have made at responding to these dilemmas. In short, this course will give
students the opportunity to think critically about one of the most “certain certainties” of
our age and engage firsthand in the activity of political theory.
Course Requirements and Grading: Your grade for this course will be based on 4
components:
1) A series of group projects described in detail below (50%)
2) One 8-10 page response paper/seminar presentation described in detail below
(20%)
3) Class attendance and participation (15%).
This course is based on a seminar format; therefore regular attendance, careful
preparation, and active participation are essential. Attendance in this course is
mandatory and role will be taken at the beginning of each class meeting.
After two unexcused absences, your course grade will drop by a letter grade
for every additional unexcused absence. This means that if you do everything
else perfectly, but by semester’s end rack up three unexcused absences, the
highest grade you can expect in the course is a B. Similarly, if you do
everything else perfectly, but by semester’s end rack up four unexcused
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absences, the highest grade you can expect in the course is a C. See the
draconian pattern? Good. Now, come to class!
When you come to class, you should come prepared to discuss the material
that has been assigned for that class. This means that you must do the reading
to be covered during a given class in advance. If you have not done the
reading beforehand, you will have nothing to contribute during class
discussion. On a purely self-interested level, this will negatively impact your
course grade. In a deeper sense, it will deprive you of the opportunity to
dialogue with your peers about some of the most pressing matters of our day
and stunt your personal and intellectual growth -- that would be a shame.
4) Weekly discussion questions posted on the course blog (15%)
In addition to participating during class, you are required to prepare discussion
questions for each Wednesday class meeting. You must post at least two
discussion questions to the course blog by 5 p.m. on Tuesday of each week.
The questions should refer to issues raised by your reading of the texts for that
week. An invitation to join the course blog will be sent to your .ufl email
address prior to the first class meeting. If you have not received this invitation
by the time of our second class meeting (Wednesday, August 27, 2014),
please notify me via email at [email protected].
Policy on Academic Integrity: All students will be held to the University of Florida
Honor Code. Among other things, this means that cheating on exams is totally
unacceptable, as is plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act of portraying as your own the words
or ideas of other people. Examples include submitting entire papers, or portions of
papers, that you did not write (e.g., old papers written by other students, new papers
written by other students, papers which you paid a “research” service to write for you,
papers or portions of papers downloaded from the Internet). Copying verbatim or
paraphrasing any substantial portion of text by another author without acknowledging the
source via quotation and/or footnotes is plagiarism. Plagiarism is far easier to spot than
you might think, especially with the aid of services such as Turnitin.com. Do not ruin
your experience in this or any other class by engaging in academic dishonesty.
Accomodations: Students with disabilities requiring academic accommodations must
first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide
documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor
when requesting accommodation. Please come see me as soon as possible regarding this
matter.
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Required Texts:
Plato (Translated by G.M.A. Grube). Five Dialogues. Hackett Publishing Compnay.
ISBN: 9780872206335
Terrence Ball, ed. The Federalist with Letters of “Brutus.” Cambridge University Press.
ISBN: 9780521001212
Herbert J. Storing, ed. The Anti-Federalist: Writing by the Opponents of the Constitution.
University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 9780226775654
Robert A. Dahl. How Democratic is the American Constitution? Yale University Press.
ISBN: 0300095244
Alexis de Tocqueville. Democracy In America. Penguin Books. ISBN: 9780140447606
George Kateb. The Inner Ocean: Individualism and Democratic Culture. Cornell
University Press. ISBN: 9780801480140
Bonnie Honig. Political Theory and the Displacement of Politics. Cornell University
Press. ISBN: 0801480728
Sheldon Wolin. Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of
Inversted Totalitarianism. Princeton University Press. ISBN: 069114589X
Carole Pateman. Participation and Democratic Theory. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN: 052129004X
Additional required readings not included in this list are noted throughout the syllabus.
These readings are available via hyperlinks provided throughout the syllabus.
Lecture, Reading, and Discussion Schedule:
Introduction
Week 1
Monday, August 25: Syllabus walk through and discussion of course
expectations. Sign up for response paper/seminar presentations.
Reading: None.
Wednesday, August 27: Distribute instructions for Group Project #1 and break
up into groups.
Reading: “The U.S. is an Oligarchy, Study Concludes,” The Telegraph,
April 16, 2014. Available here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10769041/
The-US-is-an-oligarchy-study-concludes.html
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McCutcheon v. FEC preview:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/10/08/supremecourt-takes-up-the-sequel-to-citizens-united/
McCutcheon v. FEC case summary:
http://www.fec.gov/law/litigation/McCutcheon.shtml
Part I: Athenian Democracy
Week 2
*Monday, September 1: No class (Labor Day holiday)
Reading: Aristotle’s The Constitution of Athens, Parts 42-69. The entire
work is available online for free here:
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/athenian_const.mb.txt. Just scroll down to
Part 42 and read to the end.
Plato’s Apology from Five Dialogues, translated by G.M.A. Grube
Plato’s Republic, Book VIII (8). The entire work is available online for
free here: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html
Wednesday, September 3:
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
Part II: American Democracy
Week 3
Monday, September 8:
Reading: The Federalist with Letters of “Brutus,” ed. Terence Ball.
Federalist Papers 1-3, 6, 9-10, 14, 17, 27, 33, 35-40, 45-51, 84.
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
Wednesday, September 10:
Week 4
Monday, September 15:
Reading: The Federalist with Letters of “Brutus,” ed. Terence Ball.
Federalist Papers 52-58, 62-64, 67-78, 80-83.
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
Wednesday, September 17: Group Project #1 Due and in-class presentations
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Week 5
Monday, September 22: Distribute instructions for Group Project #2.
Reading: The Anti-Federalist: Writings by the Opponents of the
Constitution, ed. Herbert J. Storing. Introduction (pp. 1-5); Letters of the
Federal Farmer (pp. 23-101); Essays of Brutus 4, 10, and 16 (pp.127-132;
158-162; 187-191)
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
Wednesday, September 24:
Week 6
Monday, September 29:
Reading: Robert Dahl, How Democratic is the American Constitution.
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
Wednesday, October 1:
Week 7
*Monday, October 6: No class (Lorna is out of town giving a talk)
Reading: Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. Volume I:
Introduction; Volume I, Part 1: Chaps. 3-5; Volume I, Part 2: Chaps 5-9
Wednesday, October 8:
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
*Friday, October 10: Group Project #2 Due (Make up class for Monday,
October 6)
Week 8
Monday, October 13:
Reading: Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. Volume II,
Part 1: Chaps 1, 5, 9, 10; Volume II, Part 2: Chaps. 2, 4, 5, 7, 13, 20;
Volume II, Part 3: Chaps 8-10, 12; Volume I, Part 4: Chaps. 1-8.
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
Wednesday, October 15:
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Part III: Contemporary Democratic Theory
Week 9
Monday, October 20: Distribute instructions for Group Project #3
Reading: The Inner Ocean: Individualism and Democratic Culture by
George Kateb. Chapters 1-3.
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
Wednesday, October 22:
Week 10
Monday, October 27:
Reading: The Inner Ocean: Individualism and Democratic Culture by
George Kateb. Chapters 7-10.
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
Wednesday, October 29:
Week 11
Monday, November 3:
Reading: Political Theory and the Displacement of Politics by Bonnie
Honig. Chapters 1 and 3.
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
Wednesday, November 5:
Week 12
Monday, November 10:
Reading: Political Theory and the Displacement of Politics by Bonnie
Honig. Chapters 4, 5, and 7.
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
Wednesday, November 12:
Week 13
Monday, November 17: Group Project #3 Due
Reading: Democracy Inc.: Managed Democracy and the Specter of
Inverted Totalitarianism by Sheldon Wolin. Chapters 1-4.
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
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Wednesday, November 19: Distribute instructions for Group Project #4
Week 14
Monday, November 24:
Reading: Democracy Inc.: Managed Democracy and the Specter of
Inverted Totalitarianism by Sheldon Wolin. Chapters 5-9.
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
*Wednesday, November 26: No class (Thanksgiving Holiday)
Week 15
Monday, December 1
Reading: Democracy Inc.: Managed Democracy and the Specter of
Inverted Totalitarianism by Sheldon Wolin. Chapters 10-13.
Discussion Leader: _____________________________
Wednesday, December 3
Week 16
Monday, December 8
Reading: Participation and Democratic Theory by Carole Pateman.
Chapters 1-4 and 6.
Discussion Leader: ____________________________
Wednesday, December 10
Final Exam
Friday, December 19, 12:30-2:30pm. Group Project #4 Due. We will use this
time to present and discuss our final group projects
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RESPONSE PAPERS/SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS:
Guidelines:
1. As a presenter, you are taking on the role of teacher for your peers in the seminar.
Make sure that you lay out the key arguments in the text(s) in a clear and concise
manner. Identify what you take to be the most important concept(s) in the text.
Limit yourself to one or two issues, since you will need to give a thorough
treatment to each one. In order to develop a critical commentary, you will need to
discuss the concept(s) you have selected by referring extensively to the text(s).
You should quote crucial passages in order to analyze them in more detail;
however, you should not rely on the citations to speak for you. Look for not only
the basic meanings of the term in question but also subtle nuances and even
contradictions in the text. Your own voice should emerge indirectly in the critical
analysis. By pointing out any tensions, oversights, and contradictions in the
author’s argument, you will also be developing your own position. In the
conclusion you may want to pose additional questions that could not be explored
in your response paper. The oral presentation will be informal. The presenters will
each have roughly 10-15 minutes to highlight the main points of their papers and
sketch out what they take to be the most interesting lines of discussion.
2. Your paper should be about 8-10 pages in length.
3. Edit and proofread your paper for spelling and grammar.
4. Send your paper to me via e-mail attachment (as a PDF or as a Microsoft Word
document). My email address is [email protected]. I will then distribute your
paper to the rest of the class via the course list serve. This will enable your
classmates to read and ruminate on your paper before discussing it during
Monday’s course meeting.
5. For full credit you must email your paper to me by 5 p.m. on Sunday, the day
before your in-class presentation on Monday. The highest grade a late paper can
receive is C+. Bear in mind that that is the ceiling, not the floor.
6. Plan ahead! Do the readings for the week you’ve signed up for in advance. If,
after you’ve completed the readings, you’re still unsure as to how you might
approach your paper and presentation, come visit me during office hours
(Mondays, 1-3pm in AND 301) to discuss. I’m here to help.
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GROUP PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS:
Group Project #1: “This is what democracy looks like!”
(5 points - Due Wed., Sept. 17)
As we will see later in the semester, when Alexis de Tocqueville wanted to communicate
the essence of democracy in America, he turned to an image: the New England town
meeting. This assignment challenges you to do the same. Present a 1-2 minute
PowerPoint series of images or a video (mp4 or mpeg) that communicates what you take
to be the essence of democracy. Think. Talk. Read. Surf. Be creative. Explore.
Experiment. Think some more. Discuss some more. Act decisively. This is your project
to create. Make it impactful.
The title of your presentation, the name of your group, and the names of all group
members should appear at the beginning of your presentation. Be prepared to speak about
your project directly after your presentation.
Group Project #2: Democracy at UF
(10 points – Due Friday, Oct. 10)
This project will consist of three parts:
Part 1: (2-3 pages) Describe and reflect on the University of Florida Student Body
Constitution. (http://www.sg.ufl.edu/GovernmentBranches/Judicial/Constitution). What
strike you as some of the constitution’s most and least democratic features? Are there any
aspects of the constitution that you find particularly surprising?
Part 2: (2-3 pages) Familiarize yourself with the rules and procedures and attend at least
one meeting of the University of Florida’s Student Senate. (Rule and Procedures
available here:
http://www.sg.ufl.edu/Documents/Judicial/Pdf/Constitution/Rules%20and%20Procedures
.pdf; UF Student Government Events Calendar available here:
http://www.sg.ufl.edu/Events)
Describe the proceedings at the meeting of the Student senate. What struck you as some
of the meeting’s most and least democratic features? Were there any aspects of the
meeting that you found particularly surprising?
Part 3: (2-3 pages) Reflect on the following questions: How does democracy at UF
compare with the idea of the essence of democracy your group explored in the first group
project? Suggest some changes that could be implemented to make student governance at
UF more democratic.
Group Project #3: Democracy in America and Beyond
(15 points – Due Monday, Nov. 17)
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In 8-10 pages, compare and contrast the constitution of the United States of America with
the constitutions of at least two other countries. Pay particularly close attention to what
you take to be the most and the least democratic features of all of these constitutions. By
way of conclusion, reflect on how democratic the constitution of the United States is
compared to the constitutions of the other countries.
Here is a website that will help you locate English translations of the constitutions of
many countries: http://confinder.richmond.edu/
Group Project #4: DIY Democracy
(20 Points – Due on the day of the final exam, Friday, Dec., 19)
This project will consist of three parts:
Part 1: (6-8 pages) Design your own democratic government and describe it in detail.
You might consider drafting a constitution for your government. Or, you might consider
a less straightforward approach, such as composing a speech praising (or criticizing) your
government for its democratic aspects. However you choose to go about the task of
describing your government, in the course of offering your description, you must explain
why your government possesses the particular features that it does. For instance, if
executive power is separated from legislative power in your government, be sure you
explain why this is so and how this makes your government democratic. Similarly, if
your government utilizes some sort of system of representation, be sure to explain why
this is so and how this makes your government democratic.
Part 2: (6-8 pages) Write a narrative that conveys the substance, feeling, and texture of
day-to-day life in your democracy. Think of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. Try to
give your reader as vivid a sense of what life is like in your democracy as Tocqueville
gives us of what life was like in early nineteenth century America. What are your
democratic citizens like? What do they do? What music do they make or listen to? What
games do they play? What moves them? In the broadest sense, how are their lives,
feelings, preferences, hopes, dreams, etc. shaped by the democratic regime under which
they live? You are welcome to supplement this narrative with illustrations, images,
music, poetry, etc. Be creative! Take risks! This should be an exciting and enjoyable
opportunity to exercise your imaginations.
Part 3: Prepare a 10-15 minute presentation of your project. We will present these during
the time scheduled for the final exam.
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