Module SGIA3891: Democracy and its Critics

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA3891: Democracy and its Critics

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• This module aims to give students an understanding of:
• The justification for democracy over alternative political arrangements;
• The best institutions for a democracy to adopt;
• How citizens in a democracy should behave.

Content

• What justifies democracy? This module looks at the justification of democracy, alternatives to democracy, democratic institutions, and the ethics of democracy. The aim is to come to a comprehensive understanding of the proper role of democracy in our political lives. The focus will be on both the philosophical underpinnings of democratic thought and the applications of these philosophical theories to concrete political systems. Indicative content includes:
• Democratic values: equality, autonomy, instrumental values;
• Alternatives to democracy: epistocracy, meritocracy, lottocracy;
• Democratic ethics: obeying the law, the duty to vote;
• Institutional design: compulsory voting, child enfranchisement, electoral systems, direct democracy

Learning Outcomes

• Students will gain a systematic and coherent body of knowledge on:
• The major arguments for and against democracy;
• Alternatives to democracy and different democratic institutions;
• The rights and duties of democratic citizens.

• Students will also develop a range of specialised skills such as:
• The ability to critically evaluate democratic institutions;
• The ability to reason about normative issues;
• The ability to advance arguments in both written and oral form.

• Students will develop some important key skills such as:
• The ability to accept responsibility for personal outcomes;
• The ability to operate independently

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

• Teaching and learning are through a series of 1-hour lectures and 1-hour seminars.
• Formative assessment will be in the form of a 2,000-word essay, which gives students practice in developing their skills in formulating a coherent argument ahead of the summative assessment.
• The lectures will provide formal instruction and will draw attention to scholarship in democratic theory. Seminars will allow students to actively engage with such scholarship and the broader topics they concern.
• The formative assessment will consist of a 2,000-word written essay.
• Summative assessment will a 750-word essay plan (20% weighted) and a subsequent 3,500-word essay (80% weighted). Students will first submit an essay plan which they will receive feedback on. They will then submit an essay based on the essay plan.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

2,000-word written essay.