Scribner Seminar Program
2006-2007 Titles
Democracy Inaction

Instructor(s): Michael Arnush, Classics

Description: What does it mean to be democratic? We speak of living in a democratic society, we refer to the Republican and Democratic parties, and yet do we understand what those terms signify, and being ‘democratic’ really conveys? We will look for answers first far in the past, with the ancient Greeks and their experiment with demokratia, and the Roman government of the res publica. Students will conduct close readings of Athenian and Roman philosophical, political, historical, dramatic and comic texts; and will examine the archeological remains of ancient, civic Athens and republican Rome. Students will also use a very modern and public exercise of democracy—the local operations of the City Council in Saratoga Springs—as a living laboratory for the contemporary American conception of democracy. Students will analyze Saratoga Springs’ city charter, explore local monuments that celebrate democratic practices, critique Jon Stewart’s irreverent America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction, investigate local candidates and issues, and examine participatory democracy—by participating! For a final project, students will craft proposals for contemporary, functioning democratic systems based upon their study of ancient and modern democracies.