79189 History of Democracy: Thinking Beyond the Self
Units: 9.0
Instructors: Law
Schedule: MW 12:20-1:10PM PH 100
Additional Discussions sections listed
Description:
[Note: Students who have taken and passed 79-104, Global Histories: History of Democracy, may not enroll.] Did you know that only six countries in the world do not call themselves a democracy? Just six. Which ones they are will not surprise you, but we can easily think of more than six undemocratic regimes. How can almost all countries claim to be democracies when so many are clearly not democratic? Why do they even bother with looking and talking like a democracy? How did democracy become, in name at least, nearly a universal ideal of government? And what does it even mean to be a democracy when the label can be applied so indiscriminately? This course will train you in the skillset and mindset of a historian so you can answer these questions. You will learn to tell historical facts from opinions and to see from different perspectives. The course will also push you to think independently and critically, and to argue persuasively for your own position. These historical thinking skills are useful not just for school or work, but they are also indispensable to a democratic society. Democracy is chosen as the course theme because it is a feature that sets humans apart from other organisms. Knowing the history of democracy is thus knowing what it means to be human, which is the essence of the humanities. Our investigation will begin with ancient Rome and continue to revolutionary France, Weimar Germany, modern Japan, the Chinese nation, and the Iranian nation. At the end of our journey, you will have gained a basic appreciation of the philosophical appeal and practical challenges of democracy, so that you will be able to decide for yourself what role democracy should play in your life and vice versa.