PLSC 558b Issues in Democratic Theory (Spring 2004)

PLSC 558b Issues in Democratic Theory

Ian Shapiro
Spring, 2004
Mon: 3:30-5:20
8 Prospect Place , Room 119
Office hours: Wednesdays 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
432-2538; : ian.shapiro@yale.edu

This seminar deals with contemporary scholarship on democracy. Among the topics to be covered:
* competing definitions of democracy
* the causes of transitions to democracy and the sources of democratic stability
* the relations between democracy and other values such as equality, efficiency, community, justice, and truth
* participation, representation, and delegation in decision-making
* the roles for argument, deliberation, contestation, and opposition
* courts and constitutionalism
* the impact of democracy on the distribution of income and wealth
* membership, diversity, and group rights

Students will be expected to write a research paper, due May 26 or take a 24 hour take home exam on May 10th.

Graduate students only. A maximum of 18 will be admitted, with preference to Political Science PhD students.

Course Materials:

Books are on sale at Bookhaven, York Street and on overnight reserve in the Social Science Library. A supplementary reader is available at Tyco Copy on Broadway (denoted (C) in this syllabus) and also on reserve at SSL.

COURSE SYLLABUS AND SCHEDULE OF CLASSES

1.) January 12th, 2004

Introduction and housekeeping session

2.) January 16th (Friday)

Defining Democracy

* Dahl, Shapiro, and Cheibub, The Democracy Sourcebook. MIT Press, 2003.

Chapter 1, appendix

* Shapiro, Ian. The State of Democratic Theory. Princeton University Press, 2003.

Intro, Chapter 1 & 3

4.) January 26th

Democracy and Equality I

* DeToqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America. HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1969.

Selections: pp. Preface to the 12th Edition; 246-61; 503-9; 668-702; 220-21; 231-45; 262-315; 525-58

5.) February 2nd

Democracy and Equality II

* The State of Democratic Theory

Chapter 5

* The Democracy Sourcebook

PP. 459-88

6.) February 9th

Democracy and Political Culture

* The Democracy Sourcebook

Chapter 3

7.) February 16th

Democracy’s Outer Edges

* Shapiro, Ian and Casiano Hacker-Cordon. Democracy’s Edges. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

Intro, Chapters 1-2, 6-8

8.) February 23rd

Visitor: Khalilah Brown-Dean

Democracy’s Inner Edges I: Limits to Citizenship

* Democracy’s Edges

Chapter 10

* Brown-Dean’s dissertation : “One Lens, Multiple Views: Felon Disenfranchisement Laws and American Political Inequality”

9.) March 1st

Visitor: Sarah Song

Democracy’s Inner Edges II: Multiculturalism

* Barry, Brian. Culture and Equality: An Egalitarian Critique of Multiculturalism. Harvard University press, 2002.

Chapters 2, 4-5, 8

* Kymlicka, Will. Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights. Oxford Press, 1996.

Chapters 2, 5-6

* Song, Sarah. ‘Culture, Gender, and Equality’

Chapters 3, 7 (C)

SPRING BREAK

10.) March 22nd

Democracy and Constitutionalism

* The Democracy Sourcebook

Chapter 4

11.) March 29th

Democracy and Opposition

* Philip Pettit, ‘Republic Freedom and Confederation Democracy’ (C)

* Philippe Van Parijs ‘Republican Freedom and Contesting Democracy’ (C)

* The State of Democratic Theory

Chapter 2

* Courtney Jung, ‘The Myth of the Divided Society and the Case of South Africa’ (C)

12.) April 5th

Democracy and Justice I

* Shapiro, Ian. Democratic Justice. Yale University Press: 2002.

Chapter 1-5, 7

13.) April 12th

Democratic Justice II

* Democratic Justice.

Chapters 6, 8

* Symposium on Democratic Justice (C)

13.) April 19th

Getting and Keeping Democracy

* The Democracy Sourcebook

Chapter 2

* The State of Democratic Theory

Chapter 4

* Jung, Lust-Okar and Ian Shapiro, ‘Problems and Prospects for democratic settlements: South Africa as a Model for the Middle East and Northern Ireland?’ (C)

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