THE JUST SOCIETY

SPRING 2002

PROFESSOR: Chris Latiolais
Humphrey House #202
Phone # 337-7076
latiolai@kzoo.edu
Offices Hours:
     1) Mon. 11:30 - 1:30
     2) Tue. 10:30 - 11:30
     3) By Appointment.
 

REQUIRED TEXTS:

 1.  Held, David. Models of Democracy (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press,1996).

 2.  Young, Iris: Justice and the Politics of Difference (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1990).

 3.  Habermas, Juergen: Between Facts and Norms trans. William Rehg (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1996).

  This course examines classical, modern and contemporary models of democracy.  Special emphasis will be placed upon contemporary issues regarding the "politics of difference" and how concerns with marginalized social groups have altered both public and foreign policy in modern, post-industrial mass democracies.  The course also explores contemporary efforts to offer a "discourse theory" of law and democracy.

POLICIES:
          Open, respectful and critical discussion is crucial to this course.  E-mail
     correspondence provides students with lecture materials important for our interpretation and
     criticism of texts, which prepare them for participation in classroom discussion, and quizzes
     allow students to evaluate their comprehension of basic terms, positions and arguments.
     Midterm assignments and the final paper offer students the opportunity to respond in depth
     to a single topic.  The final paper is due on the day scheduled for the final examination.  3
     unexcused absences will result in a full point reduction of the course grade, and later papers
     may be accepted with full point reduction for each day after the deadline.
 
 

INTRODUCTION

Tuesday:                                                                                                                          Week One
 
 

CLASSICAL MODELS OF DEMOCRACY:

Thursday

 A) "Classical Democracy: Athens" (H: 13-35)
 B) "Republicanism: Liberty, Self-Government and the Active Citizen." (H:36-69)

Tuesday                                                                                                                             Week Two

 A) "The Developmental of Liberal Democracy: For and Against the State" (H:70-120)

Thursday

 A) "Direct Democracy and the End of Politics" (H: 121-155)
 B) First Midterm Examination.

TWENTIETH-CENTURY VARIANTS:

Tuesday                                                                                                                                 Week Three

 A) "Competitive Elitism and the Technocratic Vision" (H: 157-198).

Thursday

 A) "Pluralism, Corporate Capitalism and the State" (H: 199-232)

Tuesday                                                                                                                                   Week Four

 A) "From Post-War Stability to Political Crisis: The Polarization of Political Ideals" (H:233- 273)

Thursday

 A) "Democracy After the Upheavals in Soviet Communism" (H: 272-=294)
 B) Second Midterm Examination.

CONTEMPORARY CONCERNS WITH DEMOCRACY:

Tuesday                                                                                                                                         Week Five

 A) "Democratic Autonomy" (H: 295-334)

Thursday

 A) "Democracy, The Nation-State and the Global System" (H: 335-358)

JUSTICE AND THE POLITICS OF DIFFERENCE: YOUNG'S CRITIQUE OF LIBERALISM:

Tuesday                                                                                                                                         Week Six

 A) "Displacing the Distributive Paradigm" (Y: 1-38)

Thursday

 A) "Five Faces of Oppression" (Y: 39-65)

Tuesday                                                                                                                                           Week Seven

 A) "Insurgency and the Welfare Capitalism Society" (Y: 55-95).

Thursday

 A) "The Ideal of Impartiality and the Civic Public" (Y: 96-121)
 B) Third Midterm Examination.

THE DISCOURSE THEORY OF LAW AND DEMOCRACY: HABERMAS'S INTERSUBJECTIVIST CONCEPTION OF RIGHTS, AUTONOMY AND LAW:

Tuesday                                                                                                                                             Week Eight

 A) 1.3 "Dimensions of Legal Validity" (H: 28-41)
 B) 2 "The Sociology of Law versus the Philosophy of Justice" (42-81).

Thursday

 A) 1.3 "Dimensions of Legal Validity" (H: 28-41) [Cont.]
 B) 2 "The Sociology of Law versus the Philosophy of Justice" (42-81). [Cont.]

Tuesday                                                                                                                                             Week Nine

 A) 3 "A Reconstructive Approach to Law 1: The System of Rights" (82-131)

Thursday

 A) 3 "A Reconstructive Approach to Law 1: The System of Rights" (82-131) [Cont.]

Tuesday                                                                                                                                             Week Ten

 A) 4 "Reconstructive Approach to Law II: The Principles of the Constitutional State" (H: 132-193)

Thursday

 A) 4 "Reconstructive Approach to Law II: The Principles of the Constitutional State" (H: 132-193) [Cont.]
 B) Student Evaluations.

Final Examination: