"Democracy has failed because so many fear it." - W.E.B. Du Bois
"The only cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy."  -- Al
Smith, unsuccessful candidate for President of the United States
"Democracy is a beautiful thing . . . . People are allowed to express
their opinion." -
President George W. Bush, stating that his opinion about undertaking a
preemptive war in Iraq remained unchanged after a weekend in which 10
million people demonstrated worldwide in opposition to his plans.

This class is devoted to exploring one of the most important and
conflicted topics of our time:  the meaning of democracy and the
character of democratic communication in American political culture as
it defines the role of the citizen, the values of the nation, and the
place of the United States in a complex world that is marked by
diversity and interconnected by economic forces and international
networks of communication.

Accordingly, the class will examine various ways in which "democracy"
has been constructed, including its representation as a disease and
source of danger and its contradictory representation as the means of
achieving universal peace and a cause worth defending by means of war.


We will examine some of the complexities associated with these mixed
attitudes toward democracy, especially in the post-9/11 environment of
a "war" on terrorism that purports to advance the cause of freedom and
democracy even as it claims the need to curtail domestic freedoms and
democratic processes.  The role of various forms of democratic
engagement will be discussed, including freedom of speech, public
deliberation, and popular protest as well as counter pressures to
silence dissent.

Given these complexities and counter-forces, the course will feature
the concept of speaking in a democratic idiom, that is, of finding
ways of bridging serious differences and divisions between groups that
keep adversaries from becoming sheer enemies.

The course is designed to emphasize discussion, based on weekly
assigned readings, including selections from various websites and
popular media.  Each student will develop a term project that will
result in a final paper and an oral report to the class during the
last few weeks of the semester.

This course is designated for seniors, but juniors may enroll with the
consent of Professor Ivie.

"Our real disease . . . is Democracy." Alexander Hamilton
"I shall use the words America and Democracy as convertible terms."
Walt Whitman