CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL FOR UNDERGRADUATES
WHY DEMOCRACY?
Key Information
Module code
Taught during
Module workload
Module leader
Department
Credit
Level
Pre-requisites
Assessment
ISSU1036
Block Two: Monday 25 July – Friday 12 August 2016
45 teaching hours plus approximately 100 study hours
Dr Amanda Greene
Philosophy, Faculty of Arts & Humanities
0.5 UCL credits, 7.5 ECTS, 4 US
Level 1, first year Undergraduate
Standard entry requirements
Discussion participation (20%)
1,000-word essay (40%)
Final exam (40%)
Module Overview
This course focuses on ethical and philosophical approaches to democracy. It will introduce students to major
theories of democracy, as well as major critiques of democracy. There will be five units:
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Definition – What is democracy, the history of the idea
Democracy and Voting
Democracy and Public Deliberative Culture
Democracy and Community (Multiculturalism, Persistent Minorities)
Problems of Democracy (Inequality, Individual Rights)
Module Aims
This module will introduce students to major philosophical theories of democratic government. They will read
historical and contemporary theorists of democracy, examining their conceptions of democracy and their
evaluations of its merit. Throughout the course, students will be taught the methods and tools of philosophical
argumentation.
Teaching Methods
Lectures (7 hours/week), seminars (8 hours/week), student presentations, classroom discussion, private
reading, essay drafting and revising, and outlines/assignments. Reading lists will be available online via the UCL
library site and the readings will be regularly revised and updated. Student support will be provided via
seminars and weekly office hours. Students will be directed towards class materials, further support and
discussion forums on Moodle.
Please note that this module description is indicative and may be subject to change.
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Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students will:
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Have become acquainted with selected key primary text and learned to apply a philosophical method
of analysis to these texts
Have gained an understanding of the major philosophical concepts and arguments used in traditional
and contemporary democratic theory
Have developed analyses of arguments for and against democratic government
Have conducted and presented independent philosophical research on a contemporary challenge of
democratic government
Be able to articulate, explain, and evaluate prominent theories of democracy
Assessment Methods
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15-minute Research Presentation (20%)
1,000-word essay (30%)
2-hour final exam (50%)
Key Texts
Selected excerpts from the following:
Dunn, John. 2005. Democracy: A History. New York: Atlantic Press.
Aristotle, and C. D. C. Reeve. 1997. Politics. Hackett Publishing.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The National Assembly of France
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. 1987. Basic Political Writings. Translated by Donald Cress. Indianapolis: Hackett.
Mill, John Stuart. 1961. “Considerations on Representative Government.” In The Philosophy of John Stuart
Mill: Ethical, Political, and Religious. New York: Modern Library.
Tocqueville, Alexis. 2003. Democracy in America: And Two Essays on America. Penguin Books Limited.
Schumpeter, Joseph Alois. 1976. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. 5th ed. London: Allen and Unwin.
Downs, Anthony. 1985. An Economic Theory of Democracy. Addison-Wesley.
Dahl, Robert. 1999. “Can International Organizations Be Democratic? A Skeptical View.” In Democracy’s
Edges, edited by Ian Shapiro and Casiano Hacker-Cordón, 19–36. Cambridge University Press.
Pateman, Carole. 1976. Participation and Democratic Theory. Cambridge University Press.
Macpherson, C. B, and C. B MacPherson. 1977. The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy. Oxford University
Press New York.
Pitkin, Hanna Fenichel. 1967. The Concept of Representation. University of California Press.
Manin, Bernard, Elly Stein, and Jane Mansbridge. 1987. “On Legitimacy and Political Deliberation.” Political
Theory 15 (3): 338–68.
Habermas, Jürgen. 1994. “Three Normative Models of Democracy.” Constellations 1 (1): 1–10.
Wollheim, Richard. 2000. A Paradox in the Theory of Democracy.
Shaw, Tamsin. 2008. “Max Weber on Democracy: Can the People Have Political Power in Modern States?”
Constellations 15 (1): 33–45. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8675.2008.00472.x.
Risse, Mathias. 2004. “Arguing for Majority Rule.” Journal of Political Philosophy 12 (1): 41–64.
Taylor, Charles. 2001. “The Dynamics of Democratic Exclusion.” In Democracy: A Reader, edited by Ricardo
Blaug and John J. Schwarzmantel, 398–401. Columbia University Press.
Please note that this module description is indicative and may be subject to change.
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