GOVT 3675
Spring 2017
GOVT/CLASS/AMST 3675:
DEMOCRACY AND ITS DISCONTENTS
Professor A. Livingston. Dept. of Government. Cornell University
Course Description: Despite its nearly universal
acceptance at the dawn of the twenty-first century,
the idea of democracy has been an object of
suspicion, fear, and anxiety since it first appeared
in ancient Athens two thousand years ago. What
about the idea of equal rule provoked political
thinkers from Thucydides to James Madison to
describe democracy as incoherent in theory and
dangerous in practice? How has the meaning of
democracy transformed over the last two
millennia? How has our contemporary embrace of
democracy come about? What of this radical idea
remains alive in modern forms of representation
and constitutional government? What ought
democracy mean for us today? In this course we
will investigate answers to these questions
through the study of major texts in the history of
political thought. We will examine the meaning of
democracy in historical and contemporary
contexts from the perspective of both its
champions and its critics. Central topics and
themes we will consider include: the value of
democracy, the institutional and legal means of
realizing the idea of popular rule, the nature of
equality, the duties and virtues of citizenship, the
role of rhetoric and persuasion in democratic
politics, the relationship between popular
sovereignty and representation, democratization
and domination, the idea of a civic religion, and
the politics of revolution. 4 Credits. Satisfies ASHS and HB distribution requirements.
Required Textbooks: Books are
available for purchase at the Cornell
Store.
• de Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy
in America, tr. George Lawrence
(Harper Perennial).
• Madison, Hamilton, Jay, et al. The
Essential Federalist and AntiFederalist Papers, ed. David
Wootton (Hackett Publishing)
• Marx, Karl. Later Political Writings,
ed. Terrell Carver (Cambridge)
• Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty and
Other Essays, (Oxford)
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. On the
Social Contract, (Hackett
Publishing)
• Schmitt, Carl. The Crisis of
Parliamentary Democracy, tr. Ellen
Kennedy (MIT Press)
• Thucydides. On Justice, Power,
and Human Nature, tr. Paul
Woodruff (Hackett Publishing).
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Learning Objectives: The learning objectives of this course are to develop careful and
rigorous reading habits, to sharpen interpretive and analytical writing skills, to broaden your
understanding of the history of political thought, and to delve deep into the contested history of
democracy as a word, an idea, and an institutional arrangement. By the end of this semester,
students should be able to demonstrate competency in (1) defining political theories and
concepts; (2) applying a broad knowledge of the history of political thought; (3) identifying an
author’s argument and restating it in your own words; (4) interpreting and comparing canonical
works of political theory; and (5) analyzing and evaluating the conceptual premises of both
historical and contemporary democratic politics.
Assignments and Grading: Final grades will be calculated on the basis of aggregate scores
in the following assessments:
Final Exam
30%
Participation
15%
Responses
20%
Essay 2
20%
Essay 1
15%
• Participation (15%): Your participation grade will reflect your presence and contribution to
our common dialogue in class. It is therefore expected that all students come to class
prepared to discuss the assigned readings and have a point of view that demonstrates a
strong command of, and sophisticated engagement with, the assigned texts. All students
begin the semester with a participation of 100%. This portion of your grade drops due to
missing class, arriving late, leaving early, arriving unprepared, or failing to actively
contribute to in-class discussion. NB: Do not hesitate to come speak with me in person
early in the semester if you have worries concerning challenges or hesitation you may
have about participating actively in class.
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• Response Papers (5 x 4% = 20%): Each student is
required to write five response papers over the
course of the semester. Responses should be
between 350 and 500 words in length. A response
might consist of a critique of the reading, a
comparison of the perspectives of the author(s) under
consideration, an original intervention in the
arguments taking place in and between the readings,
or a novel illustration of the themes and concepts
discussed. It is up to you to decide which five classes
you would like to write your reflection papers for.
Please note that students can only submit one
response paper per class. Response papers must be
submitted directly to your instructor via email by 8pm
the evening before class at [email protected].
Students can elect to write additional reading
responses to improve this part of their course grade.
Only your five strongest response papers will be
counted towards your final grade.
• Essays (15% / 20%): Short essays are intended to
test your comprehension of course materials,
motivate thoughtful interpretation of texts, and
encourage the development of original insights. Both
essays must be between 2000 and 2500 words in
length (citations, notes, & bibliography included). All
assignments must be submitted in hard copy, during
class time, and on the assigned date. Essay format
requirements will be include in the the assignment
prompt distributed by the instructor. Deadlines are
included in the course schedule below.
• Final Exam (30%): A cumulative final exam will be
held after the end of classes during the exam period.
The exam will consist of a series of essay questions
that ask you to compare thinkers, concepts, and
arguments from the assigned readings. A list of study
questions will be circulated at the end of the
semester.
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Instructor Contact Information
Email: [email protected]
Office: 215 White Hall
10:15 am - 12:15 pm
Course Policies:
Office Hours and Communication: Office
hours are held after class Thursdays in
215 White Hall. A sign-up sheet for office
hours is available online at http://
drlivingston.youcanbook.me. I will do my
best to respond to student emails in a
timely fashion, but please know that I only
check my email twice a week during the
semester.
Blackboard.com: All course documents
are available on through Blackboard
(blackboard.cornell.edu). If you are
unfamiliar with how to access Blackboard,
please consult the Cornell Information
Te c h n o l o g y
website
(bbhelp.cit.cornell.edu). Because
impor tant messages and updates
concerning the course will be posted
regularly on Blackboard it is imperative
that students enable their account to
send announcements directly to their
@cornell.edu email accounts.
Electronic Devices: The use of computers and
tablets in class is discouraged. Surfing the
Internet in seminar is distracting to both
you and your fellow students. Recent
studies suggest that your brain is more
actively engaged in learning when you
take notes by hand. If you do chose to
use a computer in class, please be sure
to also bring additional stationary and
some sort of analogue writing tool.
Phones must be turned off in seminar. Off
means off – not vibrate.
Office Hours: Thursdays
Recording devices: Audio and video
recording devices are prohibited in the
classroom unless required for accessibility
purposes. This is to create a learning
environment where all students feel
comfortable expressing their opinions
without the possibility of their class
contribution being reproduced or
distributed without their consent.
Classroom Climate: One aim of studying
political theory is to unsettle our received
convictions and upset our unexamined
beliefs. Because of the controversial and
provocative nature of some of the materials
we will be studying this semester, I ask that
a l l s t u d e n t s e x e rc i s e re s p e c t a n d
generosity towards one another in our
conversations. It is always welcome to
criticize an idea, but never to attack the
person who holds it. If at any point in the
semester a student feels uncomfortable
with the climate in class or disrespected in
any way, please do not hesitate to come
speak with me directly.
Late Assignments: Please consult the
course schedule for information about
assignment due dates. Permission to
submit late work will only be granted in
extenuating and unavoidable
circumstances outlined to the instructor in
writing prior to the due date. Such
circumstances include medical, family, or
personal emergencies. Multiple
assignments scheduled for the same date
do not constitute an acceptable reasons for
extensions. Late assignments will be
penalized 2% of their final grade per day
late. Extensions will not be granted in any
case after the submission deadline.
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Course Policies Continued:
Plagiarism and Academic Ethics: Students should review Cornell University’s policy towards
plagiarism and violations of academic ethics (plagiarism.arts.cornell.edu). The strength of the
university depends on academic and personal integrity. Ethical violations include cheating on
exams, plagiarism, reuse of assignments, improper use of the Internet and electronic devices,
unauthorized collaboration, alteration of graded assignments, forgery, and falsification, lying,
facilitation of academic dishonesty, and unfair competition. The university has a zero tolerance
policy towards plagiarism. All suspected cases of plagiarism will be passed on to the Academic
Integrity liaison for disciplinary review. If you any questions about the appropriate use of
secondary sources, your instructor is available to discuss best practices.
Accessibility Needs: If you have a condition that affects your ability to participate fully in class
or to meet all course requirements, please speak with me after the first day of class so that we
can work together to arrange appropriate accommodations. This syllabus and other course
materials can be made available in alternate formats. Any student with a disability who may
need accommodations in this class can obtain an accommodation letter from Student
Disability Services, 420 CCC, Garden Ave Ext (sds.cornell.edu).
Appealing Grades: Any student who feels that their assigned grade does not reflect his or her
performance on an assignment can appeal the grade. All appeals must be submitted to the
instructor in writing, in the form of a one-page document that clearly explains why you believe
that the assigned grade does not reflect your performance. I ask that petitioners wait at least
twenty-four hours after the grade is announced before submitting their appeals. All appeals
must be submitted no later than one week after the grade is announced.
Writing Center Deadline Extension: I will grant a 2-day extension for both
essay assignments to students who elect to meet with a tutor at the Writing
Walk-In Service to discuss a draft of your assignment prior to the due date.
The WWIS provides free, one-on-one consultation to discuss specific
pieces of writing or answer questions you may have concerning writing. To
take advantage of this extension you must (1) inform me before the due
date that you are meeting with a tutor at WWIS and (2) attach a 250-word
reflection of your experience at the WWIS with your final paper, explaining
(a) how you revised your draft into the submitted essay, (b) how your
consultation with the tutor impacted your essay, and (c) what forms of
feedback you received where most/least useful and why. To learn more
about this resource and schedule a meeting with a tutor see their website:
(http://www.arts.cornell.edu/knight_institute/walkin/walkin.htm).
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Course Schedule
Readings marked with an asterisk (*) are posted
on Blackboard.
I. What is
Democratic
Theory?
Thursday (1/26)
• Intro. No readings
II. Athenian
Democracy
Tuesday (1/31)
• Read this whole syllabus carefully before
coming to class
• Thucydides, Justice, Power, and Human
Nature, pp. 1-30*
Thursday (2/2)
• Thucydides, Justice, Power, and Human
Nature, p. 15-46
Tuesday (2/7)
• Thucydides, Justice, Power, and Human
Nature, pp. 39-58, 66-76
Thursday (2/9)
• Thucydides, Justice, Power, and Human
Nature, pp. 89-96, 102-123
Tuesday (2/14)
• Rousseau, On the Social Contract, Bk. 1
Thursday (2/16)
• Rousseau, On the Social Contract, Bk. 2-3
Tuesday (2/21)
• Winter Break. No class
Thursday (2/23)
• Rousseau, On the Social Contract, Bk. 3-4
Tuesday (2/28)
• Benjamin Constant, ‘The Liberty of the
Ancients Compared with that of the
Moderns’*
Thursday (3/2)
• Constitution of the United States of America
(September 17, 1787)
• George Mason, Objection to the Constitution
of Government Formed by the Convention
• ‘Address of the Minority of the Pennsylvania
Convention’ (Dec. 18th, 1787)
• Publius, Federalist Papers, 1, 6, 7, 9, 10
Tuesday (3/7)
✴Essay 1 Due in Class
• ‘Speech of Melancton Smith before the New
York Ratifying Convention, June 20th, 1788’
• ‘Letters of Cato,’ 5
• ‘Letters of Centinel,’ 1
• Publius, Federalist Papers, 10, 14, 23, 37,
39, 48, 49, 51
III. Popular
Sovereignty
IV. How
Democratic is
the American
Constitution?
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V. Aristocratic
Liberty and
Democratic
Equality
VII. Capitalism
and the State
VIII. Is Voting
Rational?
IX. Paradoxes of
Liberal
Democracy
Spring 2017
Thursday (3/9)
• ‘Letters of Cato,’ 4
• ‘Essays of Brutus,’ 12, 15
• Publius, Federalist Papers, 48, 49, 51, 55,
62, 68, 70, 78
Tuesday (3/14)
• de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vol. 1
Author’s Introduction
Thursday (3/16)
• de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vol.
1, Part 2, Ch. 9
Tuesday (3/21)
• de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vol.
1, Part 1, Ch. 4-5; Part 2, Ch. 4, 6
Thursday (3/23)
• de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vol.
2, Part 1, Ch. 1-5, 8-10, 20; Part 2, Ch. 1-3
Tuesday (3/28)
• de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vol.
2, Part 2, Ch. 1-13, 19-20; Part 4, Ch. 6-8
Thursday (3/30)
• Marx, ‘Preface to A Contribution to the
Critique of Political Economy’
• Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis
Bonaparte, pp. 31-76
Tuesday (4/4)
• Spring Break. No class
Thursday (4/6)
• Spring Break. No class
Tuesday (4/11)
• Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis
Bonaparte, pp. 76-127
Thursday (4/13)
• Conference travel. No class
Tuesday (4/18)
✴Essay 2 Due in class
• Mill, Considerations on Representative
Government, pp. 204-237
Thursday (4/20)
• Mill, Considerations on Representative
Government, pp. 238-56, 267-301
Tuesday (4/25)
• Mill, Considerations on Representative
Government, pp. 302-45, 353-69
Thursday (4/27)
• Schmitt, The Crisis of Parliamentary
Democracy, pp. 18-50
Tuesday (5/2)
• Schmitt, The Crisis of Parliamentary
Democracy, pp. 1-17
• Schmitt, The Concept of the Political, pp.
19-37*
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X. Populism
Spring 2017
Thursday (5/4)
• Jan-Werner Muller, What is Populism?, pp.
7-40*
Tuesday (5/9)
• Jan-Werner Muller, What is Populism?, pp.
75-103*
TBA*
✴Final Exam to take place during exam
period (May 15-23)
Suggested Additional Readings on Four-Hour Reserve at Olin Library:
• John Dunn, Democracy: A History (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005)
• John Dryzek and Patrick Dunleavy, Theories of the Democratic State (New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2009)
• David Held, Models of Democracy, 3rd edition (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006)
• Bernard Manin, The Principles of Representative Government (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1997)
• Carol Pateman, Participation and Democratic Theory (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1970)
• Anne Phillips, Engendering Democracy (Maldon: Polity Press, 1991)
• Hanna Fenichel Pitkin, The Concept of Representation (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1967)
• Nadia Urbinati, Representative Democracy: Principles and Genealogy (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 2006)
• Sheldon Wolin, Politics and Vision: Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought,
Expanded edition (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009)
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