Democracy, its future, and its health are one of the most pressing issues of our day. With more or less every possible perspective available online (from pro- to anti-democratic), young people are often reasonably confused about what to believe and what to think about the political systems of which they will inevitably become participants.
This class will explore several visions and practices of democracy. Students will evaluate whether the systems are democratic in name and in practice or neither. Their goal will be to sort through the messy ways in which various populations have chosen to represent and practice popular sovereignty. Our case studies will likely be a combination of the USA, Israel, France, Japan, India, Nigeria, and the Russian Federation.
In addition to reading and discussing primary source documents and listening to some lectures, students will move through several successive simulations in which they debate political issues using the different combinations of democratic norms and rules. In those debates students will argue not just about the efficacy of a given idea but also about whether they could implement it given the legal and political system they are simulating. They will not complete papers but will complete presentations and detailed notes as part of the course.
At the end of their program, they will work together in teams to design an ideal system they would implement today. Students will present their designs to the class and then we will attempt to simulate a policy debate using the rules that the class favors the most. Families will be invited to join that final day.