Spring 2021  |  POL 3235W Section 001: Democracy and Citizenship (51479)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Completely Online
Class Attributes:
UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Online Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/19/2021 - 05/03/2021
Tue, Thu 04:00PM - 05:15PM
Off Campus
UMN REMOTE
Enrollment Status:
Closed (55 of 55 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
This course considers the nature of contemporary democracy and the role that members of the political community do, can, and should play. While approaches in teaching the class vary, students can expect to read historical and contemporary texts, see films and videos, to approach questions about the nature of democracy, justifications for democracy, and challenges faced by contemporary democracy. Topics will include such questions as the role of civil society in democratic life, deliberative democracy, as well as questions about how members of political communities can best participate in democratic life. Students will write a longer essay that allows them to demonstrate their capacities to understand and explain complex ideas and to make a theoretically compelling argument, using appropriate supporting evidence. prereq: Suggested prerequisite 1201
Class Notes:
This course is completely online in a synchronous format. The course will meet online at the scheduled times. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?tranv004+POL3235W+Spring2021
Class Description:

Citizenship is often assumed; it is a status one might hold by virtue of one's place of birth. But for many it signals the endpoint of a long and often difficult journey - the moment when one is formally recognized as being part of a liberal democratic nation-state. While debates about paths to citizenship are common, the concept itself tends to receive less critical scrutiny. And upon closer inspection, citizenship is far from a fixed point on the political landscape. It is merely one way to conceptualize our public relationships - what it means to be part of a community - across time and place. Rather than examine citizenship as an unchanging status that one possesses or acquires, in this course we will treat it as a site of contestation and struggle - of political movement(s). We do so not merely to gain a better understanding of the theory and practice of citizenship across the globe, but to reflect together on our own public relationships here and now.

After examining some common conceptions of citizenship in Western liberal democracies - the individual as legal rights-bearer and/or participant in the political process - we turn to efforts to (re)imagine public relationships in India during the struggle for swaraj (Independence), paying careful attention to how the (post-) colonial context shapes debates about citizenship and its alternatives. We then explore the public relationships that emerged during the American Freedom Movement, scrutinizing how race structures conceptions of citizenship and its alternatives in the United States. Finally, we look to present-day Minneapolis to think together about our own public relationships and what they require of us.
Who Should Take This Class?:
Any student is welcome to take this course, whether a political science major or not. The questions we deal with are issues affecting all students, and we will work to connect contemporary issues with theoretical and historical texts in a way that is both rigorous enough to engage majors while being accessible to those without a background in political science.
Learning Objectives:

  • Identify, define, and explain competing models of citizenship in liberal democracies

  • Compare and contrast claims of political actors defending/criticizing models of citizenship

  • Critically evaluate normative arguments advanced by political actors defending/criticizing models of citizenship

  • Construct and clearly communicate a normative argument about a current event involving citizenship (broadly construed)

  • Acquire skills for effective citizenship and life-long learning

    • Grading:

  • 15%: Short paper 1

  • 20%: Short paper 2

  • 10%: Public Narrative

  • 25%: Revised and extended paper

  • 15%: In-class participation (exit tickets)

  • 15%: Out-of-class participation (reading responses)

    • Exam Format:
    No final exam
    Workload:
    approximatley 40 pages of reading per class
    Textbooks:
    https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/51479/1213
    Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
    26 October 2020

    ClassInfo Links - Spring 2021 Political Science Classes

    To link directly to this ClassInfo page from your website or to save it as a bookmark, use:
    http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=POL&catalog_nbr=3235W&term=1213
    To see a URL-only list for use in the Faculty Center URL fields, use:
    http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=POL&catalog_nbr=3235W&term=1213&url=1
    To see this page output as XML, use:
    http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=POL&catalog_nbr=3235W&term=1213&xml=1
    To see this page output as JSON, use:
    http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=POL&catalog_nbr=3235W&term=1213&json=1
    To see this page output as CSV, use:
    http://classinfo.umn.edu/?subject=POL&catalog_nbr=3235W&term=1213&csv=1
    Schedule Viewer
    8 am
    9 am
    10 am
    11 am
    12 pm
    1 pm
    2 pm
    3 pm
    4 pm
    5 pm
    6 pm
    7 pm
    8 pm
    9 pm
    10 pm
    s
    m
    t
    w
    t
    f
    s
    ?
    Class Title

    ClassInfo created and maintained by the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

    If you have questions about specific courses, we strongly encourage you to contact the department where the course resides.