PHIL 480. Seminar: Democracy

Earlham College, Spring Semester 2006-2007
Monday, Thursday 1:00-2:20 Carpenter 323
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 328
Office Hours: By appointment
Office Phone: 983-1399
e-mail: guvenfe@earlham.edu
web page: http://www.earlham.edu/~guvenfe/democracyseminar.htm
Moodle Page: https://moodle.earlham.edu/course/view.php?id=156

Course Description:  The purpose of this course is to investigate democracy as an intellectual discourse and as a political project.  Our scope will not be limited to historical or empirical manifestations of democracy, but rather include democracy as an idea, a set of ideals, a regulative idea and a cluster of ideas organized around the concept of democracy-to-come.  Our working hypothesis will be that democracy relies on the metaphysical presuppositions of modern philosophical thinking concerning the human subject and the structure of the world.   Therefore, a rigorous critique of the democratic discourse requires an engagement with these metaphysical presuppositions.

Reading Assignments: (available in the Earlham College bookstore)
Derrida, Jacques. Rogues, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2005)
Badiou, Alain. Metapolitics, (London: Verso, 2005)
Laclau, Ernesto. On Populist Reason, (London: Verso, 2005).
Mouffe, Chantal. The Democratic Paradox, (London: Verso, 2000).
In addition to these texts, the following readings are on Moodle.
Schmitt, Carl. The Concept of the Political, Trans. J.H. Lomax, (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1996).
________. Political Theology, Trans. G. Schwab, (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005).
________. The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy, Trans. E. Kennedy, (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1985).

Requirements and Evaluation: This course will be conducted in a seminar format. Attandance and participation are important dimensions of the course and your grade. I expect you to come to class prepared and ready to participate, i.e., having read the text carefully, and ready to raise and answer questions.
The success of this course depends on your attendance.  If you miss more than three sessions, you will fail the course, regardless of your grade.
You are required to write two (10-12 pages) papers.  For each paper you are responsible for the general guidelines provided. See "Comments and Suggestions for Papers."
Each week a student will prepare a protocol.
Your grade will be calculated according to the following distribution: Paper 1: 30%; Paper 2: 30%; Protocol: 20%; Participation and Attendance: 20%.
There will be no final examination.
Our sessions will start at 1:00 pm. Students are expected to come on time. Walking into (and out of) the classroom while the session is in progress is very disruptive for everybody.  I ask you not to do these. For every two late attendance (or early exit) you will be marked as absent for one session.
Any student with a documented disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the instructor and Disability Services Office (Academic Support Services) at the beginning of the semester. Accommodation arrangements must be made during the first-two weeks of the semester.
Calendar: There may be some modifications to this calendar. It is your responsibility to be aware of these changes. These changes will be announced in class. If you miss a class you should make sure that you are informed about the assignments for the next session.
Week 1:
January 11: Introduction
Week 2:
January 15: Schmitt, Carl. The Concept of the Political
January 18: Schmitt, Carl. Political Theology
Week 3:
January 22: Schmitt, Carl. The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy
January 25: Schmitt, Carl. The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy
Week 4:
January 29: Mouffe, Chantal. The Democratic Paradox
February 1: Mouffe, Chantal. The Democratic Paradox
Week 5:
February 5: Mouffe, Chantal. The Democratic Paradox
February 8: Mouffe, Chantal. The Democratic Paradox
Week 6:
February 12: Laclau, Ernesto. On Populist Reason
February 15: Laclau, Ernesto. On Populist Reason
Week 7:
February 19: Laclau, Ernesto. On Populist Reason
February 22: Mid-semester Break
Week 8:
February 26: Badiou, Alain. Metapolitics
March 1: Badiou, Alain. Metapolitics
Week 9:
March 5: Badiou, Alain. Metapolitics
March 8: Badiou, Alain. Metapolitics
Week 10:
March 12: Review
March 15: Review
March 19--March 23: Spring Break
Week 11:
March 26: Derrida, Jacques. Rogues
March 29: Derrida, Jacques. Rogues
Week 12:
April 2: Derrida, Jacques. Rogues
April 5: Derrida, Jacques. Rogues
Week 13: TBA
April 9; April 12:
Week 14: TBA
April 16; April 19:
Week 15: TBA
April 23; April 26: Evaluation