VALS410 Democracy and Governance (5 cr)
Tweet text
Description
The course focuses on the transformations in the relationship between governance and democracy in contemporary politics and the way these transformations have been theorized in political thought. The course illuminates the genealogical background for the contemporary criticism of depoliticizing and anti-democratic tendencies in governance and explores the possibility of a positive, mutually reinforcing relation between democracy and governance.
Learning outcomes
The aim of the course is to attain a critical introduction to late-modern theories of democracy and governance; to learn to locate the positions of key 20th century political theorists in the intellectual and sociohistorical context; to develop one’s skills in critical reading and textual analysis as well as one’s abilities to apply theoretical concepts to issues and events in contemporary politics.
Additional information
Teaching in english on academic year 2021-2022.
Study materials
Materials for contact teaching are introduced during the course.
Materials for the written assignment in the literature list below.
Literature
- Brown, W. 2015: Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism's Stealth Revolution. New York: Zone Books. 978-1-935-40869-7 (e-kirja)
- Dean, M. (2010) Governmentality: Power and Rule in Modern Society, London: Sage (2nd edition). 978-1847873842
- Honneth, A. (2014), Freedom’s Right: The Social Foundations of Democratic Life, New York: Columbia University Press. 9780231162470
- Levitsky, S. and Ziblatt, D. (2018), How Democracies Die, New York: Penguin. 9781524762940