PARTICIPATING
IN DEMOCRACY
Winter,
2006
Naskah Zada is our delightful teaching assistant for this class. Please contact her at naz@pdx.edu if you have questions or need information from her.
503.725.9195
NH 225
Office hours by appointment
Website: web.pdx.edu/~ingham
Readings:
Links: Various and multiple. They are embedded everywhere in this syllabus.
You are responsible for whatever I have linked.
Text:
Democracy's edge: choosing to save our country by bringing democracy to
life (Edge), by Frances Moore Lappé.
Books will be available, courtesy of In
Other Words Bookstore, in the Women's Resource Center, in the basement
of Montgomery Hall the following days and hours: Monday, January 9, 11-4,
Tuesday, Jan 10, 10-7, Wednesday Jan 11 10-7, and Thurs Jan 12 10-3. Please
inform your students. After this, they will be available at the Bookstore--address
is on the web. (Return policy: Returns are accepted up to 2 weeks after the
first of the term [one week for summer courses]. In order to receive a refund,
books must be in brand new condition with no bends or marks. Buybacks at the
end of the term are based on projections of future need, and so we may not
buy back all books.)
On reserve at the library: The politics of liberation:
An American studies primer. There are readings assigned from this book,
scattered throughout the syllabus.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Democracy, as defined in most dictionaries, means governmentby
the people. This class will discuss what this means, using examples from history
and the present to explore what is possible when citizens participate in democracy.
It is the opinion of many that a democracy is meant to be participatory,
and that living in a democracy carries with it rather profound responsibilities.
To the extent citizens do not take on these responsibilities, for whatever
reasons, they will be unrepresented by their government. This class then,
will encourages students to develop a voice within the conversations of their
peer cultures, as well as in the critical discussions and debates of their
community and nation.
This course is designed as a service-learning
course. Students are asked to perform at least fifteen hours of community
service over the course of the term, with an agency or organization that serves
the Portland area. This experiential
learning will be used to both inform and expand in-class work and assignments.
Finally, this class will practice what bell hooks
calls engaged pedagogy
[1]
. Pedagogy is the "work or occupation
of teaching
[2]
", engaged hopefully speaks for itself.
What this means is that students will be expected to actively engage
with the information offered by the instructor and the materials, both in
class and in the assignments, and in fact will be occasionally asked to lead
class discussions. Class format
will rarely involve lecturing, but will instead employ dialogue between students
and students, and students and instructor.
Dialogue here is defined as "a kind of speech that is humble,
open, and focused on collaborative learning. It is communication that can awaken consciousness...[3]
". This requires that both
the instructor and the students think of them/our selves as knowledgeable
learners who can both teach and learn in this class.
GOALS:
My personal goal is that we will, over the ten weeks we meet, for a small
community of people working together to think more deeply and critically about
democracy and its responsibilities. My job is to provide you with thought-provoking
information; your job is to do the work assigned to you, and to share your
thinking and ponderings with the rest of the class.
REQUIREMENTS:
Students
will be asked to attend and participate in small, in-class discussion groups
from time to time. You are also
asked to write reflection papers every other week (noted
on the syllabus) on the assigned readings and your CP, to be turned in as
indicated on the syllabus. You are also asked to give a minimum of two 3-minute
presentations over the course of the term, described below.
A 5-8 page final research paper is assigned instead of a
final exam.
There is a very reasonable amount of reading expected. This should free you up to spend careful attention on the writing assignments and presentations so that we can have great class discussions. Particular attention is placed on your learning to write even more clearly and concisely, i.e. academically, than ever before, which is the reason for the grading method described below. All of your papers, except the first one, must be cited using either MLA or APA citation styles, linked here to the internet. Academic writing standards must be followed, also linked here.
EVALUATION:
Grades will be based on your performance and your
participation in class, the presentations, five reflection papers, and the
final research paper. The reflection
papers are worth 50 points (5 papers @ 10 points each = 50), the quizzes are
worth 50 points (5 quizzes @ 10 points each = 50), the presentations are worth
20 points (2 presentations @ 10 points each), the final paper is worth 90
points, and participation in class is worth 180 points (18 classes @ 5 points
each = 90).
There are also ample opportunities for extra credit
points, in the form of extra presentations and/or extra reflection papers.
If it happens that you or I discover an event in the Portland area
that pertains to conflict resolution, you are invited to attend and write
a report about it, also for extra credit.
Papers will be graded a little differently than you
may be accustomed to:
1) The first 5 points are given based entirely on
the content of your paper.
2) The second 5 points are given based on your writing.
I will spend a great deal of time correcting all of your written work for
writing errors. If you make more than 10 errors you will not be given any
of the second five points. However you then have the opportunity to correct
your paper and resubmit it for full points.
TIMELINESS:
None of us, myself included, like it when people we
are waiting for don't show up or are late.
If you miss more than four classes, your grade will go down a notch.
Miss more than 6 classes, it will go down another notch--8 classes,
you will not pass the class.
Similarly, if you are late three times it will count
as one absence; six times will count as two absences, etc.
To this end, please sign the class list as you enter
the room.
GRADES:
COURSE
OUTLINE
January
10th & 12th
Introduction to class and members
Define and discuss citizen
participation, civic
capacity, and, especially, democracy.
What is engaged pedagogy?
Discussion about listening, and how it will be employed and utilized in this
class.
Thursday, the 12th, is community partnership day.
You must attend, as several community partners will be coming to tell you
what it is they do, and to sign you up. This is a very important day!
Readings: "Engaged
Pedagogy," by bell hooks (handout in class), and pages xi-11 in Edge.
17th & 19th
Thorough discussion of the final paper.
Complete a "universe
of obligation."
Readings (for these two days):
Edge,
"American rebellions,"
Thom Hartmann
Definition[s] of democracy
in Wickipedia
"Founding America,"
Jacob Needleman
24 -
26 - No class
CP Day.
Readings:
Edge, pages 29-47, 251-276,
and 321-323.
Frances Moore Lappé's study guide, "Living
democracy: Ten practical, everyday arts."
"Political reform," Jane Addams (from Democracy and social ethics,
by Jane Addams.
NY:MacMillan Co., 1902)
31 - Questions
of judgment and responsibility as regards media's role in democracy.
U.S. criticizes' access to information, and our right to free speech, is regarded
as instrumental to democracy. This class will explore the ways in which this
is true, and how it is not true. In other words, how does the media contribute or detract from democracy?
Please read these articles (which are linked
to their websites, and be prepared to discuss them in class on the 27th:
"Secret Plans Against Germany Revealed"
"Three Media Leaders Convicted of Genocide"
"The
Warning That Was Ignored"
Also read pages 49-108
in Edge.
2/2 - Conformity and
obedience and its relationship (or lack thereof) to democracy.
In that human beings are, by nature, gregarious, conformity is in many ways
inevitable. This can work in our favor, and it also makes us vulnerable to
propaganda, charismatic leadership. Our need to belong drives us in ways we
don't generally pay much attention to--until it gets us, or the world, into
trouble. How can we work with our gregariousness so that it steers us in the
direction we want to go, using our very finest and clearest thinking?
Readings: "People and
events that influenced America's founders," and
"Myths about democracy in America
(part 1) (part 2)," both from
What would Jefferson do? by Thom Hartman
Extra
Credit: Pick some piece of the media
you regularly peruse. Scan it for propaganda. If you hadn't been looking for
it, would it have affected you? How, or how not? To what extent do you think
such propaganda, as propagated by media, distorts or enhances our sense of
morality, responsibility, etc.? Two-pages, 10 points (attach the propaganda
to your paper please).
Or: Does it really matter which network you watch to get the
national news? Access the Television
News Archive at Vanderbilt University and follow the links to the collection
of evening news abstracts. Browse ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC for a given week,
and see if there's a difference in the way the channels portray, showcase,
prioritize, and slant the news. Two pages, 10 points.
Or: "Anyone with a modem . . . " Matt Drudge is perhaps the world's best known cyberjournalist. His web site, The Drudge Report, reportedly receives thousands of hits per day, making it one of the most visited sources on the internet for news and political information. Locate The Drudge Report at http://www.drudgereport.com/, and follow the link to a transcript of Matt Drudge's speech to the National Press Club. Read over the introductory remarks from National Press Club President Doug Harbrecht, and then the speech by Mr. Drudge. (In other words, you can stop reading when you get to the Q&A part of the talk.) What evidence do you find here that members of the traditional press corps and media find The Drudge Report to be a threat to the media as an institution? Two pages: 15 points.
February 7 & 9
Women's role in democracy (please
read these links)
It was only 130 years ago that Susan B. Anthony cast an illegal
ballot in a Presidential election, arguing that the Constitution was written
for all people, not just white men of means. Astonishingly, it took 48 more
years before women were actually given the right to vote, in 1920. We still
haven't caught up. How does this impact democracy in the U.S.?
Readings:
Pages 219-250 in Edge.
Extra Credit: Go to the CAWP
(Center for American Women and Politics) website. Click on "Women Officeholders:
Historical," and familiarize yourself a little with the information presented
there. Now click on "Gender Gap: Voting," and again on "Voting
Behaviors," read both links under this heading. Compare the three pieces
of information you've gleaned here, analyze what you think it all means, and
write a two-page paper about your conclusions: 15 points.
14 -
16 - What comprises resistance?
Readings:
Pages 12-17, 66-81, 105-106, 122-126, 168-171, 211-224 in Politics.
21 - Social Activism
23 - No Class - CP Day
Readings:
"What became of real American conservatives?"
from What would Jefferson do? by Thom Hartman
Extra Credit: Find at least two articles about people who have resisted events, laws, legislation, actions, etc. that they deemed undemocratic. Write a page about each person, describing what he or she did, and what you think about his or her effort[s]: 15 points.
February 28
Actively participating in democracy
March 2nd
Morals, values, ethics, philosophies and
how they relate to being democractic. This class will prepare you for the
event on the 7th.
Readings: Pages 219-248 in Edge
Tikkun
Magazine's Core Vision
"The
democratic conception of education," John Dewey
"The politics of meaning and the meaning of
politics," a review, by Melissa Lane, of The politics of meaning,
by Rabbi Michael Lerner.
4th RP
due at the beginning of class Thursday, the 2nd.
Special event[s]: Rabbi
Michael Lerner will be in Portland for a few days at the beginning of March.
In particular, he will be involved with this class on March 7th. All of the
details have not been covered yet, so stay posted. To that end, and so you
will be educated a bit about him before he comes, I have linked some of his
articles here in the syllabus.
March 7th - Our class will participate in an event, mentioned above. We
will discuss this at length well before March 7th.
March 9th - Discussion about Tuesday's class.
How and why does democracy fail? Is democracy succeeding in the United States?
For whom? Has it ever represented everyone? Who belongs? Why or why not?
Readings: Pages 277-319 in Edge
Go the article, "When Democracy Failed," at the Common Dreams website. What is the point the author is trying to make with this article. Is the situation different now? Is it the same? How or how not? In addition, find one article on the internet (or in the library) defending the Patriot Act, and another that criticizes it. Come to class prepared to discuss both of these topics in class.
Extra Credit: Read the articles about Camp Harmony linked here. To what extent do the events leading up to, during, and after Japanese internment in Washington mirror what has happened in the U.S. as regards feelings and attitudes towards Middle Eastern people residing here? Two pages: 10 points.
March
14th & 16th - Hope and Power: Making the world
belong to us.
Pages
407-4449 in Politics
Reflection Papers (RP's): Each
week there will be readings assigned, class discussions, small group discussions,presentations,
and/or a video.
These papers are to be at least two pages long,
and are due every other week (noted on the syllabus).
Presentations: Each
student is expected to do two 3-minute presentations over the course of the
term. These must
Tip: Don't use google for this assignment. There are better search engines
for academic searches: dogpile.com, alltheweb.com, and my favorite, teoma.com
1) Students are asked to write a 7-10 page paper,
as described above in the syllabus.
This paper must reference at least five of the academic readings we've
used for the class. Like all the papers written for the class, they must use
either MLA
or APA
style.
[1] This is also sometimes referred to as, and is certainly akin to, critical pedagogy, feminist pedagogy, literacy of power, education for critical consciousness, etc. The concept will be thoroughly discussed in class.
[2]
The
Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (unabridged) (1979). Oxford University Press, 2110.