Democracy

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject offers a sustained analysis of the past, present, and future of democracy. First, it introduces students to the primary elements of democratic theory. Second, it traces the shifting place of democratic principles in political life from the ancient to the modern world. Third, it analyses the historical struggle to extend those principles in new directions. Finally, it identifies key tensions and possibilities in democratic practice over the coming years. The subject moves historically from the ancient world to possible futures and traverses a geography from Europe to Asia, the Americas and Africa. It examines the democratic struggles of the colonised, the working class, and women and ponders the current and possible future connections between democracy and the media, the environment, and the economy.

Subject Objectives

Students who complete this subject should:

• be familiar with central debates in democratic theory;

• be able to critically apply these theories to researching and understanding particular historical and contemporary cases;

• recognise the diversity of political forms that claim adherence to ‘democratic' principles;

• be able to identify the exclusions and limitations that underlie particular examples of democratic governance;

• appreciate the historical conditions that might contribute to expanding or restricting the franchise, scope and authenticity of democratic rule.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• understand a range of disciplines and methodologies appropriate to the texts, artefacts, theoretical structures and social practices with which they are concerned;

• have developed a capacity for critical thought and analysis through the construction and articulation of lucid, logical arguments;

• have developed oral and written skills through essay writing and tutorial participation;

• have acquired the tools for independent and targeted research, using library and other information services;

• have the ability to organise and manage their time through the planning of class assessments and the meeting of set due dates.