Welcome to Rhetoric, Politics and the Crises of Liberal Democracy

Is democracy in peril? Since the 9/11 attacks in 2001, concerns have been raised of a crisis in liberal democracies – first, we saw how the so-called security state started to outweigh respect for human rights worldwide and, in more recent years, we have seen a political arena where notions of truthfulness, consistency and struggle for the common good no longer have pride of place; where populism and nationalism have become ubiquitous.  However, it is not the first time in the modern era that democracy has been threatened, nor is the current situation unique. 

The aim and focus of this course is to give a simultaneously historical and theoretical perspective on the current crises of liberal democracy, focusing both on what we may learn from recent history and on what may be specific for the present crisis. The hypothesis to be explored is the assumption that behind manifest irrationality and apparent randomness one can discern other forms of consistencies, possible to describe and understand from a rhetorical philosophical-anthropological point of view.

Course organization.

Each student attending this course will be expected to chair one session, either alone or in a small group, depending on the number of students attending.

To chair a session means

1) to prepare and present an, in a productive sense, critical reading of the assigned text/texts.

2) to prepare two to four questions for discussion in the group.

3) to chair the discussion, i.e. be the one who distributes the word, keeps track of time and etcetera during the discussions.

A list of those responsible for each session will be established at the first session, February 18.

See schedule [ schema] in the left column for all times and venues

Examination  PLEASE SEE THE LATEST REVISED VERSION FOR SPRING 2023 IN THE MODULE EXAMINATION

In order to be eligible for examination the student must have chaired, either alone or in a small group, one of the courses sessions.

The examination of the course consists in writing a short essay 4 to 5 pages (2 cm margins, right and left and top and bottom; font: Times New Roman 12 P; line space 1,5) adressing the question 'Is democracy in peril today?'. The essay should make active and critical use of the course litterature.

The essay is to be presented and discussed at the examining end-conference of the course, 15/3, 13.15-17.00.

Thus the examination of this course contains three elements:

1. Charing a session

2. Writing an essay (according to the instructions above)

3. Presenting the essay and partaking in the discussions at the courses end-conference.

Readings

Chiara Bottici, (2014) Imaginal Politics - Images Beyond Imagination and the Imaginary, Columbia University Press, 2014

Wendy Brown (2015), Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s Stealth Revolution, Zone Books 2015.

Cornelius Castoriadis: (1991) “The Greek polis and the creation of Democracy”, p 81- 123 in Philosophy, Politics Autonomy – essays in political philosophy, Oxford/New York, Oxford University Press, 1991 You will find the text här Download här.

Cornelius Castoriadis et al (2020) Democracy and Relativism: A Debate, London: Rowman & Littlefield International, [2020]  

Dilip Gaonkar (2017) “THEY, THE PEOPLE, Overlooking the populist complaint”, Thirty-one, The berlin journal, 61. You will find the text här

Yuval Noah Harari: “The world after coronavirus”  https://www.ft.com/content/19d90308-6858-11ea-a3c9-1fe6fedcca75 Links to an external site.

Mats Rosengren (2019) “Reconsidering the political – is it possible to be democratic today?”, English version of “Riconsiderando <<il politico>> : è possible essere democratici oggi?”, chapter in Ripensare la politica – Immagine del possible e dell’alterità, Editiones ETS, Pisa, 2019. You will find the text here Download here.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ADDITIONAL READINGS MAY BE INCLUDED WITH SHORT NOTICE - THIS COURSE EVOLVES WITH ITS TIME...