Rick Battistoni

Ancients and Moderns: Democratic Theory and Practice

Providence College

Required Texts (available at PC Bookstore)

M.I. Finley, Democracy: Ancient & Modern
J.J. Rousseau, On the Social Contract
Thomas Jefferson, Selected Writings
C. Douglas Lummis, Radical Democracy
Meta Mendel- Reyes, Reclaiming Democracy: The Sixties in Politics and Memory
and other readings to be provided in class
In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to
make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country
democratic we are praising it; consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is
a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using the wo rd if it were tied down to one
meaning.
-George Orwell, Politics and the English Language
Democracy is not an alternative to other principles of associated life. It is the idea of
community life itself.
- John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems
What we call today democracy is a form of government where the few rule, at least supposedly,
in the interests of the many.
- Hannah Arendt, On Revolution
Democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have been tried
from time to time.
- Sir Winston Churchill
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND REQUIREMENTS
This course is, in two words, about democracy, and about theory. First, democracy,
which has its root meaning, from its Greed origins, means rule of the people. But as Orwells
quote suggests, the word is highly charged and contested. Democracy as apolitical idea and as a
system of political practices has raised and continues to raise a number of complex questions:
about the nature of rule and of the people. In this class we will explore these questions by
looking at the theory and practice of democracy, in the eyes of defenders and critics, in three
important time periods and locations: Ancient Athens, 18th Century Europe and America, and
the world of today, the late 20th /21st Century. By looking at examples of the theory and practice
of democracy, as well as its shortcomings as viewed by the contemporary critics in each era,
we may develop further the many questions democracy poses, and we can begin to search for
answers together.

The class will emphasize reading, critical thinking, and discussion, although I will give
several lectures as overviews for each period of thinker. Your participation, and your
preparation ahead of time is indispensable, for like democracy, the most effective learning
community is one where all participants come prepared to discuss together the common dilemma
or question. Together, we will try to create a kind of democratic community, in which we all try
to express our views and to listen to the views of others, including those who are the assigned
resources for class discussion. The reading assignments are important resources for our
discussions as well as your individual thinking and writing, so I expect you to come to class each
day, having read the materials and thought carefully about the questions that you think they raise
about democratic theory and practice.
The course is about democracy, but it is also about theory (and, as a result of theorizing,
ultimately about practice). Political theory, simply stated, is reflective discourse on the meaning
of the political, the delving underneath the surface of political practice to ask questions and
understand the underlying meaning of politics. In ancient Greek usage, theoria was a journey
taken by statesmen (yes, as we all know, women were excluded from public life) or citizens to
other places and/or cultures. The person making this journey would go study other governments,
cultures, customs, and practices, and report back to leaders of the homeland. The theorist was
thus a person who was able to examine these other cultures and abstract out form his own native
experiences more general understandings/standards of political behavior or action, which could
then be applied in either criticizing, justifying, or amending institutions and practices in the home
community. In this sense, then, political theory is both a critical and creative activity, for each
generation to participate in a continuous tradition. And in this sense, we are all theorists.

So I want you to read about the theories and practices of democracy in these three
periods, but with a view to your own theorizing about democracy. Each of you should emerge
from the course with your own democratic theory, drawn from readings, class discussions, a
major theory into practice project (see below), and your ongoing critical writing in the theory
journal (see below). Instead of merely reading the political theory from ancient and modern
sources, my hope is that everyone in the class will become their own political theorist, and will
engage each other in the practice of theorizing about democracy.

EVALUATION
Your course grade will be determined as follows, from the three sources listed below:
Democratic Class Participation. Worth 20% of the final grade, based on your attendance,
preparation for, and engagement in class discussions, presentation, as well as your carrying out
of rotated responsibilities (listserve/discussion moderator; vibeswatcher to be explained in
class). In addition to my observations of your active engagement in class discussions and your

fulfillment of your official classroom citizen duties, you will contribute a self-evaluation to
assist me in deciding your grade for this part of the course.
Democratic Theory into Practice Project. Worth 40% of the final grade. You will have the
choice to do one of the following two options for this project:
1) Democracy in Action (DIA). You will be grouped with all others in the class that choose
this option, and your goal will be to organize yourselves democratically (whatever this
means for the group), then arrive at a commitment to do some democratic action and
actually carry out the action by the end of the semester. What the content and
product of such an action may be is entirely up to the group, but it should exemplify the
democratic ideals and theories we have learned about and discussed during the semester.
The group will be asked to submit a final narrative report (it could include individual
components as well as the group report), one that not only summarizes the content and
product of the democratic action in light of democratic theory, but also chronicles in
some detail the process of arriving at the end product and the groups reflections on this
process in light of democratic theory and principles. In addition, each individual will
write a final narrative summarizing her/his own conclusions about democracy and
democratic theory in light of the DIA. The DIA group will be responsible for arriving at
a proposal for the rules governing the collective portion of the evaluation of the DIA in
terms of each group members final grade. Well talk about this option more in class
2) Democratic Organizational Biography (DOB). If you choose this more research-oriented
theory- into-practice option, you will select an organization to study from the standpoint
of (1) democratic ideals and values; and (2) your own understanding of whats at stake
for you with respect to democracy. You will need to spend significant time working
with the people in the organization, followed by interviews with key informants
focusing on the organizations commitment to the theory and practice of democracy.
This research will for the basis of your DOB, which you will write up with an
introductory narrative and conclusion based on your understanding of democratic theory
and whats at stake in terms of the particular organization you have chosen for the DOB.
I will grade these based on the overall quality of understanding and analysis of
democratic theory and practice that each exhibits. More details to come in a separate
handout.

Critical Writing Project: The Theory Journal. Worth a total of 40% of your final grade.
The last time this class was taught we experimented with this kind of theoretical writing, and in
my estimation it was a great success, though a lot of work for all involved, including me. Instead
of writing a number of separate, unconnected critical essays, I am asking you to keep an ongo ing
theory journal, which will incorporate readings, class discussions, and your own personal
analysis and insights. The writing will be cumulative, with a view to assisting you in crafting
your own theory of democracy. My expectation is that you will write 5-7 pages per week
(typed, double-spaced) in this theory journal, resulting in a total of 70-100 pages over the course
of the semester. Most of the time, I will structure your writing in the form of a written question

or suggested topic for you to address; at other times we may identify issues or questions during
class discussions to follow up on in the journal, or the listserve/discussion moderator may
identify the topic to cover; at other times, much of your journal entry will consist of responses to
my comments/questions, or perhaps to current issues/events which are related to readings or
class discussions (after all, this is an election year!!). My intention is to collect your journal
writings four (4) times during the semester, and in addition to making my comments and
challenging further thought with questions, I will grade the journal each time on a scale of 1-10.
I will clarify and/or answer questions about the theory journal in the class early on in the
semester.
Please feel free to raise concerns, questions, criticisms, and suggestions as we go along,
either publicly or in private consultation with me. The course outline that follows is tentative,
and should be seen as a general guide, not a prison out of which none of us can escape.

COURSE OUTLINE*

Date(s)
Jan. 20
Jan 25, 27

Topic
Orientation; intro to class
What is democracy? A class
simulation

Feb. 1,3

What is democracy?

Feb. 8,10,15,17

Greeks bearing gifts?

The democratic legacy of Athens
Lecture: Precursors to 18th century
democratic theory
18th century democracy and critics:
Return of the Athenian ideal?

Feb. 22
Feb. 29, Mar. 2,14,16,21,23
Second journal collection

Mar. 28,30

Todays World: Challenges to

democracy (Elitism/Expertise)

Apr. 4,6
Third journal collection

Todays World: Challenges to

Democracy (Economic &
Technological Development)

Apr. 11

Todays World: Democracy and

Moral Disagreement
Todays World: The Virtues of
Democratic Participation
What is Democracy? Presentations
of Projects

Apr. 13,18,25
Apr. 27, May 2,4
Final journal collection

* All readings in Bold Print will be handed out in class.

Reading/other assignments
None
Lummis, extracts, pp.1-8
Journal assignment: choose extract
most embodying your initial theory
of democracy; popular media assn.
Lummis, pp14-44
Journal assignment: First
take/response to Lummis
Finley, pp. 3-141;
Plato, Republic (selections)
Begin 18th century readings
Rousseau, On the social contract
(sel); Jefferson, selected writings;
Douglass, The Meaning of July 4
for the Negro; Wollstonecraft, A
Vindication of the Rights of Woman
(sel); Federalist Papers; Seneca Falls
Declaration of Sentiments and
Resolutions
Huntington, The Democratic
Distemper; Schumpeter,
Capitalism, Socialism, &
Democracy (selections)
Lummis, pp. 45-110
Barber, The New
Telecommunications Technology:
Endless Frontier or End of
Democracy?
Gutmann & Thompson, Democracy
and Disagreement (selections)
Mendel-Reyes,Reclaiming
Democracy; Lummis, pp. 151-63