PTC6022 - Democracy and Democratization

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of differing conceptions and theorisations of the nature and value of democracy.
Understand the diversity of democratic practices in modern nation states.
Demonstrate critical awareness of the key contemporary debates on the origin and transformation of democratic states.
Understand the challenges and pressures that democracies face in the modern world.
Describe and critically evaluate the experience of democratisation from Western and non-Western perspectives.

Content:

This module explores a range of definitions of democracy and the variety of democratic practices: including deliberative democracy; civic republicanism; participatory democracy; mixed constitutions, and communitarianism. The historical and cultural contexts for democratisation will be explored and competing theories of democracy will be applied to the analysis of specific case studies. Students will be encouraged to explore democratisation from diverse perspectives (Western and beyond the West; gender inequality, rich and poor) and to consider the relation between theoretical explanation and specific cultural and historical experiences.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Seminars/workshops will be the principal modes of delivery. Learning will be supported by material and resources placed on Moodle in advance of each session, and by 'directed activities': preparation and reading before each seminar as directed by the tutors. The focus of the classes will be on student-led discussion and debate, and the discussions of pre-structured case studies and debates will drive the engagement with the key texts and contemporary criticism.

Seminars/workshops
Hours: 30
Intended Group Size: 50

Guided independent study
Hours: 170

Further details relating to assessment
Assessment 1 - Report: this assessment tests for awareness of the diversity of democratic practices and the ability to deploy this awareness in comparative analysis of the relative strengths and weaknesses of different democratic states.

Assessment 2 - Report: The second assessment tests for the ability to reflect on democracy as experienced by non-Western states and through non-Western values and to assess the implications and consequences of such misunderstandings. The report format will enable a single-nation focus for the primary analysis.

Assessment:

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Nathan Uglow
Level - 6
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered -

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