Unit information: What is democracy, and how should it work? in 2022/23

Unit name	What is democracy, and how should it work?
Unit code	PHIL30131
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Professor. Pettigrew
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	N/A
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	N/A
Units you may not take alongside this one	N/A
School/department	Department of Philosophy
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

What’s so great about democracy? Why are democratic institutions valuable? Voting seems to be part of the story. But how? Why is the ability to vote so important? And what makes a good voting system anyway? In this unit, we will explore a number of different voting systems and investigate their role in democracy. We will ask a range of philosophical questions about voting: Do we have a moral duty to vote? Is it rational to vote? What sorts of voting systems are good or bad for different purposes? When is a voting system fair? Whose vote should count anyway? We will also explore important results about what sorts of voting systems are even possible, such as Arrow’s theorem and the Condorcet Jury Theorem, and consider their implications for how to structure democratic institutions. Along the way, we will examine the subtle (and not so subtle) ways in which democracy is often undermined.

Your learning on this unit

On successful completion of the unit students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a sophisticated knowledge and understanding of the philosophical issues surrounding value and nature of democracy,
2. Demonstrate a sophisticated knowledge and understanding of the core literature in philosophy, economics, and political theory on the value and nature of democracy,
3. Demonstrate a sophisticated knowledge and understanding of the philosophical issues surrounding the ethics of voting and the advantages and disadvantages of various voting systems,
4. Demonstrate a sophisticated knowledge and understanding of the philosophical issues surrounding the arguments for and against different extensions of suffrage,
5. Work together collaboratively with others to analyse philosophical ideas and arguments, using the key tools of analytic philosophy, and to present these collaboratively as a group in an oral presentation.

How you will learn

Lectures and seminars.

How you will be assessed

Summative: Timed Assessment (100%) [ILOs 1-5]

Formative: Collaborative presentation (0% to be completed for the award of credit) [ILO 1-5]

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PHIL30131).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.