CoursesDemocratic Theory (NEW)
PSCI 4992, Section 301

Democratic Theory (NEW)

In the Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau said of democracy, “A government so perfect is not suited to men.” Although democracy is often invoked as the ground of political legitimacy, there is little agreement about what democracy is, how it should be implemented in institutions and law, and why citizens should desire it. Tracking both its historical development and contemporary debates, this class asks after these questions about democracy by way of four concepts—democracy, the people, justice, and participation.
Instructor(s)
  • Ani Chen
  • Ani Chen
Semester

Spring 2026

Register
TR 10:15am-11:44am

Unit I begins in classical Athens. We will read the works of two of democracy’s strongest critics, Plato and Aristotle, to ascertain what democracy was and what they took it to be. Understanding democracy as the rule (kratos) of the people (demos), we will then turn in Unit II to asking after who the “people” are by way of the Social Contract tradition. Unit II introduces questions about equality and inclusion, which will inform our reading in Unit III on contemporary debates surrounding questions of justice in the works of Judith Shklar, Iris Marion Young, and Danielle Allen. Finally, we will end our class in Unit IV on participation. Bringing our reading into conversation with contemporary dilemmas around political participation, we will end by considering the role of elections, social movements, and protest in democratic practice. This course is an undergraduate seminar. Students can expect 75-150 pages of reading per week.

Related Content

Other Courses of Interest

COML 0523.301

Life Writing as Dialogue: Autobiography, Memoir, Auto Fiction and the Diary (NEW)

Instructor(s)

  • Batsheva Ben-Amos

Semester

Spring 2027

When we read autobiographies, diaries or memoirs we expect the writing to be all about the individual writer. This Life Writing as a Dialogue course will use several autobiographical genres (autobiography, memoir, diary and auto fiction), to support students’ understanding of how relational dialogic processes are used in such genres to construct self and group identity.

Learn More
LAWM 538

Engineering Law and the State (New)

Instructor(s)

  • Justin (Gus) Hurwitz

Semester

Spring 2026

This course explores the relationship between engineering, law, and the state to develop an understanding, on the one hand, of the mechanisms by which technology affects political processes and, on the other hand, how political processes regulate technological designs. It does so by using engineering principles as a lens to introduce and discuss foundational concepts from political philosophy, jurisprudence (legal theory), positive political theory, and economics. The course has the express goal of bringing engineering fields into dialogue with the humanities and social sciences and facilitating dialogue between those disciplines.

 

Learn More