Module SGIA2321: DEMOCRATIC THEORY

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA2321: DEMOCRATIC THEORY

Prerequisites

• Any Level 1 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To enable students to gain more detailed knowledge of the development of theoretical approaches to democracy from ancient Greece to the present day.
• To enable students to engage with relevant theoretical literature in the study of political theory.
• To provide a basis of theoretical understanding for the further study of political theory and democratic politics at level 3.

Content

• Indicative topics typically include;
• Early republican and liberal thought on democracy
• ‘Elite’ theory (Michels, Schumpeter)
• The ‘behavioural revolution’ (the so-called ‘Empirical theory of democracy’)
• Marx, Marxism, anarchism and democracy
• Participatory democracy (radical and revolutionary)
• Deliberative democracy
• Postdemocracy
• Feminism and democratic thought
• Postmodernism and democratic thought
• Current theoretical debates about democracy

Learning Outcomes

• The nature and development of theoretical approaches to democracy in both historical and contemporary contexts.
• Explanatory theory and descriptive typologies of democracy.
• The contested nature of the definition and description of democracy.
• Current controversies in the theoretical study of democracy and the history and prospects of these scholarly debates.

• Apply theoretical, conceptual and critical analytical frameworks from the discipline of political theory.
• Evaluate rival theories and interpretations from the discipline of politics with reference to theory and empirical evidence as appropriate.
• Appreciate the contested nature of the understanding of political phenomena.

• Retrieve and utilise in written form resources they have been directed to.
• Assess the suitability and quality of resources for research purposes.
• Review, reinforce and integrate knowledge independently in preparation for assessment.
• Demonstrate these and the above acquisitions in written form under pressure of time and in a tutorial.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Teaching will take the form of lectures accompanied by tutorials.
• Lectures provide the substantive spine of the module, offering context and evaluation of the materials and arguments presented in the reading list and acquired independently in students' preparation time. They are designed to inform and provoke but represent only a foundational core on which students necessarily need to build.
• Tutorials will be discussion-based student-led activities facilitated by a tutor but primarily relying on student contributions and thus consolidating knowledge and developing argumentation and critical ability.
• Two formative essays will provide practice in the organisation of material acquired through lectures, tutorials and research in response to a specific question in preparation for the final examination.
• The final examination (100%) will promote the ability to organise learned material independently and to bring it to bear in answers to specific questions under time constraint.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Two formative essays of 1,500 words.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University