POLISCI 291D: Democracy and Citizenship

POLISCI 291D: Democracy and Citizenship UMass Amherst Fall 2017 Machamer Hall W-24 TuTh 8:30-9:45 Professor Adam Dahl Thompson Hall 536 adahl@umass.edu Office hrs: Tues. 10:00-12:00 & by appointment Course Overview Critique is essential to all democracy. Not only does democracy need and require the freedom to criticize and need critical impulses. Democracy is nothing less than defined by critique. -Theodor Adorno, Critique (1969) Political scientists often suggest that democracy is an essentially contested concept. Indeed, if there is an essence of democracy, it involves contestation, preventing any stable, abstract meaning of the term from ever emerging. The word democracy emerged as a term of derision in ancient Greece, a pejorative literally meaning rule of the poor that political elites hurled at popular leaders to challenge their distinctive claims to rule. To the American founders, democracy represented not a positive ideal to be achieved but a tyrannical force to be contained. In our contemporary political world, democracy is universally championed as the best form of government. Yet despite its global appeal, the meaning of democracy has been and remains the source of much contention. Tracking these shifting meanings in historical and contemporary contexts, this course offers a broad overview of central themes in democratic theory. In this course, we will explore the following questions: What are the origins of the idea and practice of democracy? How has the meaning of democracy changed throughout history? What are the rights and responsibilities of democratic citizens? What kinds of practical mechanisms and processes should be used to institutionalize democracy? What is the relationship between democracy and empire? How should democracies reconcile social and cultural differences? Does democracy need borders? This course grapples with these questions by exploring the complex and contested meaning of democracy stretching from ancient Greece to the present. Course Goals and Learning Objectives Primary Course Goals Substantive Mastery of Democratic Theory: The course creates an intellectual space for considering what democracy is and how it can be creatively imagined, critically examined, and civilly contested. The overarching goal of the course is for students to master key texts, concepts, and debates in democratic theory and the modes of inquiry involved in democratic theory: to think, speak and write critically about the theoretical and practical dimensions of democracy and citizenship and to reflect on the ways in which democratic ideas and practices influence our own political communities and lives. You will gain a more nuanced understanding of the key theoretical and historical debates involved in assessing the vitality of democratic politics, which will provide you with new perspectives on current political debates and problems. 1

Critical Democratic Citizenship: One overarching goal in this course is the cultivation of students capacities critical democratic citizenship a citizenry critically engaged with political problems and predicaments of power in the present. Democracy depends on the capacities of citizens to formulate their own political values about what it means to practice good citizenship and then judge or critically evaluate political life on the basis of these values. You should emerge from this course not only with a deepened understanding of the intellectual tradition of democratic theory, but also with the ability to articulate your own democratic ideals and how you conceive of your relationship to these ideals as citizens of a democratic community. Key Learning Outcomes Course readings, lectures, discussions, and assignments are designed to help you to: - Develop an in-depth understanding of the intellectual and historical foundations of democratic thought and practice; - Learn the essential analytical and argumentative tools involved in democratic theory; - Communicate knowledgeably and effectively, both orally and in writing, regarding key issues in the history of democratic thought and in our own era; - Place recurring democratic problems and debates in historical perspective, and bring a theoretical understanding of the past to bear on present political problems; - Inquire into and further refine your own political views and values, helping you become a more reflective and conversant citizen. Course Readings Required Readings: There will be five required books to buy for this course. All of these titles are available at the University bookstore. All other readings will be posted on the course website: https://moodle.umass.edu. Required texts: Jean Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (Hackett Publishing, 1988) Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America: Abridged Edition (Harper, 2007) Joel Olson, The Abolition of White Democracy (University of Minnesota Press, 2004) Sheldon Wolin, Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism (Princeton University Press, 2010) Assignments and Evaluation Two Short Analytic Essays The goal of the short analytic essays is to invite you to wrestle more closely with at least one of the texts or arguments from the course, and to apply what we have learned to concrete problems involved in democratic practice. Note: These essays must be based on standards of collegelevel academic writing, relate explicitly to a major text from the course, and include relevant textual citations and discussion. They are not informal or casual opinion pieces. Midterm Exam The midterm exam will test your comprehension of various texts we have read throughout the course. The basic format will involve identifying and explaining key quotations from the course 2

readings. This requires that you read and comprehend ALL course readings (note: this means that you will have to read the texts more than once). Final Essay Exam The final exam for the course will take the form of an analytic essay that will be written in response to essay prompts that ask students to explore in more detail a particular problem facing democracy. The essay exam provides an opportunity to creatively apply arguments and ideas learned in the course and work on your writing skills. Essay exams will be evaluated based on the strength, originality, and organization of your arguments; inclusion and discussion of relevant textual evidence; and quality of writing. Attendance and Participation I expect you to attend every class period. Your grade depends upon it. I will take attendance every class period. You will be given three opportunities to miss (no questions asked) without having points deducted, after which I will start docking two points for every additional class period that you miss. Any other university approved absences require written documentation. Your active involvement in the class will count in the margins. Thus, if you are at the border between grades weak participation might knock you down into the lower grade bracket, just as strong participation can put into the higher-grade bracket. Strong participation means being actively involved in discussions, asking interesting questions, and demonstrating that you read and have thought about the material. Participation will also include 5-6 in-class group exercises designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas with your peers. The in-class exercises cannot be made up. Either you get the points or you don t. Grade Breakdown (200 points total) 50 points Short Analytic Essays (25 points each) 50 points Midterm Exam 50 points Final Essay Exam 50 points Attendance and Participation Course Policies Assignments and Due Dates The schedule for assigned work will be strictly enforced, with penalties for late assignments. Late assignments will lose 3 additional points for every day they are missed. Missed work will result in a 0. If you know in advance that you cannot fulfill a required assignment you must email me at least 2 weeks prior so we can make other arrangements. If you suddenly need a paper extension, you must contact me at least 24 hours in advance of when the assignment is due. Under no circumstances will I give an extension after an assignment is already due. Classroom Courtesy Students are expected to observe some rules of common classroom courtesy including but not limited to the following: 3

Read assigned texts in time for class and come prepared with questions/issues to discuss. Come to class on time and stay for the duration. If you absolutely must leave early or come late, please let me know in advance. CELL PHONE USE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Laptops may be used by clearing it with me and sitting in the back row. When using technology, students should not message, email, or engage in social media in the classroom. Students will be expected to interact with one another and with the instructor with respect. Politics can be contentious and disagreements are to be expected, but discourtesy or verbal abuse of any kind will not be tolerated. Students should not bring food into the classroom. Grading Scale A+ 97-100% B+ 87-89% C+ 77-79% D 60-69% A 93-96% B 83-86% C 73-76% F Below 60% A- 90-92% B- 80-82% C- 70-72% Academic Honesty Policy Statement I do not take plagiarism or academic dishonesty lightly. I expect you to use your own creative thinking to complete all assignments and to cite all sources consulted, particularly if you borrow any facts or ideas and implement them in your own writing. All cases of academic dishonesty will result in a failure of the course and an initiation of proper university disciplinary action. Since students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent. The University defines academic dishonesty as follows (http://www.umass.edu/honesty/): Cheating intentional use or attempted use of trickery or deception in one s academic work Fabrication intentional falsification and/or invention of any information or citation Plagiarism knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one s own work Facilitating dishonesty knowingly helping or attempting to help another commit an act of academic dishonesty Disability Accommodations The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to making reasonable, effective and appropriate accommodations to meet the needs of students with disabilities and help create a barrier-free campus. If you are in need of accommodation for a documented disability, register with Disability Services to have an accommodation letter sent to your faculty. It is your responsibility to initiate these services and to communicate with faculty ahead of time to manage accommodations in a timely manner. For more information, consult the Disability Services website at http://www.umass.edu/disability/. 4

Course Schedule CW = Course Website Tues. 9/5 Course Introduction Read syllabus IN ITS ENTIRETY Thurs. 9/7 The Birth and Death of Democracy Wendy Brown, We Are All Democrats Now, pp. 44-52 (CW) CLR James, Every Cook Can Govern: A Study of Democracy in Ancient Greece, Correspondence, 2, 12 (June 1956), pp. 1-14 (CW) Reading Questions: What, according to Brown, are the primary threats to democracy? Is she right to believe democracy is threatened? According to James, what made Athenian democracy radical? What is sortition and why was it so important to radical democracy? What was Solon s constitution and what innovations did it make? Tues. 9/12 The Classical Ideal of Democracy Aristotle, The Politics (Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp. 1-5, 51-65, 81-99 (CW) Reading Questions: What is good citizenship for Aristotle? What is a just constitution? How does Aristotle classify different constitutions? Is democracy a just constitution? Why or why not? In-Class Exercise: Aristotle in America Thurs. 9/14 Republicanism and the General Will I Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (Hackett 1988), pp. 1-25 Reading Questions: For Rousseau, why do individuals obey the law? What is sovereignty and what are its two key characteristics? What is the general will and what makes it different from private will and the will of all? Tues. 9/19 Republicanism and the General Will II Rousseau, The Social Contract, pp. 25-52 Reading Questions: What role does the Legislator play and why does Rousseau introduce this figure? What is the difference between government and sovereignty? How does Rousseau characterize different systems of government? 5

Thurs. 9/21 Representation and Civil Religion Rousseau, The Social Contract, 60-76, 89-97 Reading Questions: What does Rousseau think of political representation and why? What is civil religion and why is it necessary for republican democracy? Does Christianity provide an adequate basis for republican government? Why or why not? Tues. 9/26 Liberalism and the Birth of Modern Democracy Benjamin Constant, Liberty of the Ancients and Compared with that of the Moderns, Political Writings (Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp. 307-328 (CW) Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man, Political Writings (Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp. 171-183 (CW) Reading Questions: What is the difference between the liberty of the ancients and the liberty of the moderns? What is Constant's criticism of Rousseau? Do you agree? How does Paine characterize the relationship between democracy and representation and how does his view differ from Rousseau? In-Class Exercise: Ancients vs. Moderns Thurs. 9/28 Constitutionalism and Representative Democracy James Madison, The Federalist Papers (Oxford University Press, 2008), pp. 48-55, 239-253, 256-260, 309-315 (CW) Reading Questions: What is a faction and how does Madison propose to deal with them? How does Madison define tyranny and how does he guard against it? How does Madison characterize ancient democracy and how does his characterization differ from Paine? In your view, is Madison a democrat or anti-democrat? Why? Tues. 10/3 Elitist Theories of Democracy Walter Lippmann, The Phantom Public, Lanahan Readings in the American Polity, Fourth Edition (Lanahan Publishers, 2007), pp. 383-387 (CW) Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (Harper and Brothers, 1975), pp. 250-283 (CW) Reading Questions: What is the omni-competent citizen and what does Lippmann think of this ideal of citizenship? What does Schumpeter think of the classical doctrine of democracy and why? What is his alternative to the classical doctrine? Thurs. 10/5 Participatory Democracy John Dewey, Search for the Great Community, The Later Works, 1925-1953, Volume 6

2 (Southern Illinois University Press, 1988), pp. 325-350 (CW) Students for a Democratic Society, The Port Huron Statement, The Port Huron Statement: Sources and Legacies of the New Left s Founding Manifesto (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), pp. 239-252, 270-283 (CW) Reading Questions: How Dewey s views on democracy differ from that of Lippmann and Schumpeter? How does he view the relationship between science and democracy? How does the Port Huron Statement (PHS) define participatory democracy? According to PHS, what are three key problems facing American democracy? Assignment: Analytic Essay #1 Due Tues. 10/10 No Class Monday Schedule Thurs. 10/12 No Class Study Day Tues. 10/17 Deliberative Democracy and its Critics Jurgen Habermas, Three Normative Models of Democracy, Constellations, 1, 1 (1994), pp. 1-10 (CW) Iris Marion Young, Communication and the Other: Beyond Deliberative Democracy, Democracy and Difference (Princeton University Press, 1996), pp. 120-136 (CW) Reading Questions: How does Habermas's theory of deliberative democracy (or discourse ethics) differ from the republican and liberal models of democracy? What are Young s two key criticisms of deliberative democracy? Do you agree? Why or why not? In-Class Exercise: Technology and Democratic Communication Thurs. 10/19 Midterm Exam Tues. 10/24 The Foundations of American Democracy I Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, pp. xvii-xviii, 9-15, 24-54, 132-164 Reading Questions: What kind of equality does Tocqueville think is most prevalent in America? What is the "social condition of Americans," and why is it "eminently democratic" (pp. 38-39)? How has settlement of North American influenced democracy? Thurs. 10/26 The Foundations of American Democracy II Alexis Tocqueville, Democracy in America, pp. 235-239, 246-256, 264-268, 279-288, 293-295, 381-402 7

Reading Questions: What is the tyranny of the majority and why is it a problem? How does American democracy control its negative effects? What is individualism and what effect does it have on democracy? What is democratic despotism? Tues. 10/31 The Foundations of American Democracy III Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, pp. 164-195 Reading Questions: How does Tocqueville characterize the place of African Americans and Native Americans in American democracy? Does he think racial equality between the three races (i.e. Black, Native, and White) is possible? Why or why not? In-class Exercise: Tocqueville and American Democracy Thurs. 11/2 Citizenship and the Problem of Exclusion Judith Shklar, American Citizenship, pp. 1-23 (CW) Olson, The Abolition of White Democracy, pp. xi-xxiv, 1-9 Reading Questions: Why do Americans value citizenship, according to Shklar? How does Shklar say the history of slavery has shaped American citizenship? How and in what ways is race a political category, according to Olson? As opposed to what? Tues. 11/7 Race and the Social Construction of Citizenship Film Viewing: PBS Documentary: The House We Live In: Race The Power of an Illusion, Episode 3 (2003) Reading Questions: What does it mean to say that race is a social construction? Identify two policy examples from the film that illustrate what Olson calls white citizenship? Thurs. 11/9 Race and Democracy I Olson, The Abolition of White Democracy, pp. 9-19, 31-53, 65-76 Reading Questions: What is the democratic problem of the white citizen? What is herrenvolk democracy? How has white citizenship changed since the 19 th century? Has white citizenship changes since the election of Donald Trump? Tues. 11/14 Race and Democracy II Olson, The Abolition of White Democracy, pp. 77-82, 95-110, 125-129, 133-145 Reading Questions: What is the participation-inclusion dilemma? Olson identifies to key approaches to deal with the problem of white citizenship. What are they and what limitations do they face? What is the abolition democracy? 8

In-Class Exercise: Redressing Racial Inequality Thurs. 11/16 Immigration and the Boundary Problem Frederick Whelan, Democratic Theory and the Boundary Problem, pp. 13-47 (CW) Rogers Smith, The Principle of Constituted Identities and the Obligation to Include, Ethics & Global Politics, 1, 3 (2008), pp. 139-153 (CW) Reading Questions: What is the boundary problem and why is it an issue for democracy? How does Whelan think we can solve the boundary problem? Why does Smith think the United States has a special obligation to include certain populations? Which ones? Assignment: Analytic Essay #2 Due Tues. 11/21 Thurs. 11/23 No Class Thanksgiving Break Tues. 11/28 Cosmopolitan Democracy David Held, Democracy, the Nation-State, and the Global System, Models of Democracy (Polity Press, 2006), pp. 290-311 (CW) Robert Dahl, Can International Organizations be Democratic? A Skeptic s View, Democracy s Edges (Cambridge University Press, 1999), pp. 19-36 (CW) Reading Questions: Why does globalization threaten democratic governance, according to Held? What are the basic features of cosmopolitan democracy? What is Dahl s critique of cosmopolitan democracy? Why is he skeptical that international organizations can be effectively democratized? Thurs. 11/30 Inverted Totalitarianism Sheldon Wolin, Democracy Incorporated, pp. xvii-xxiv, 1-68 Reading Questions: What is a political imaginary and what are two imaginaries that Wolin identifies? What is inverted totalitarianism (IT) and how does it differ from traditional totalitarianism? What effect does IT have on democracy? Tues. 12/5 Superpower and Terror Wolin, Democracy Incorporated, pp. 69-81, 95-113, 131-158 Reading Questions: What does Wolin mean by Superpower and how does it conflict with democratic ideals? What role did 9/11 play in the rise of Superpower? What effect does the rise of Superpower have on democracy? 9

Thurs. 12/7 Managed Democracy and the Demobilization of the Demos Wolin, Democracy Incorporated, pp. 184-237 Reading Questions: What is managed democracy and how is it related to IT and Superpower? How does Wolin characterize the relationship between state power and corporate capital, and what effect does this have on democracy? What model of citizenship does managed democracy embrace? Tues. 12/12 Fugitive Democracy Wolin, Democracy Incorporated, pp. 239-292, ix-xvi Reading Questions: What is fugitive democracy and what kind of citizenship does it imply? What are two examples of fugitive democracy? What does Wolin think of the American Constitution? How does the election of Barack Obama and Donald Trump effect Wolin s theory of inverted totalitarianism? In-Class Exercise: The Fate of American Democracy Wed. 12/20 Final Analytic Essays due at 8:00 AM Final essay submission directions: TBA 10