DEMOCRACY: FROM ATHENS TO ZUCCOTTI PATK in Fall 2019 (PL1091FB9)

Democracy, which means government by, for, and of the people, is an intriguing idea that raises many questions: Who belongs to the people? What is the will of the people? Who can speak in the name of the people? In this course we survey classic and contemporary theories and practices of democracy, ranging from direct democracy in ancient Athens to the modern-day Occupy movement in Zucotti Park. We pay special attention to the ways in which processes of digitialization such as the use of social media transform our understandings and evaluations of local, national and global forms of democratic life.