The Democratic Syllabus

Bibliographic Data

ID6104131
AuthorsSusan Mcwilliam, Susan McWilliams (Pomona College, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume48
Issue1
Pages167-170
Publication date2015-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePS Political Science & Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1049-0965 • E-ISSN: 1537-5935
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1049096514001723
OpenAlexW2107745753
LanguageEN
Citations received3

The ideal of the “democratic classroom” has been discussed in educational circles for several years. This article answers the question of whether there are specific advantages to be derived from a democratization of the political science classroom, especially one in which democracy itself is a focus of study. Can giving students more power over course content enhance their understanding of democratic authority and process? The author approached these questions by adding several “democratizing” elements to a seminar course, most notably a “democratic syllabus” in which students determined discussion topics, led class sessions, and submitted work of their own choosing. Student surveys and the author’s reflection suggest that the democratic syllabus was a success in terms of the classroom dynamics that it engendered and the thinking about democratic politics and citizenship that it encouraged. Both students and professor agreed that the democratic syllabus presented challenges that should be considered by anyone thinking about creating or modifying a course on this model. Yet this article argues that many political science courses would benefit from similar endeavors in classroom democratization

Democracy · Democratization · Epistemology · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Syllabus · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Innovative Teaching Methodologies in Social Sciences · Law · Psychology

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