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The Perils and Possibilities of Democracy: The Example of Ancient Greek Democracy

Created October 13th, 2020 by Sara Forsdyke

Framing Statement:

The Founding Fathers rejected the example of ancient Greek democracy and modeled American government after the mixed regime of ancient Rome. But were they right to look on ancient Greek democracy with disfavor? What can we learn from ancient Greek democracy about the perils and possibilities of democracy? 

 

Multimedia:

“The Perils and Possibilities of Democracy” with Sara Forsdyke, Professor of Classical Studies & Josiah Ober Collegiate Professor of Ancient History, and introduced by Professor Angela D. Dillard for the Democracy & Debate Collection:

 

What Did Democracy Really Mean in Athens? - Melissa Schwartzberg 

 

Text:

“What Did Democracy Really Mean in Athens?” A TED Ed Animation inspired Melissa Schwartzberg, Links to an external site.Silver Professor of Politics at NYU Links to an external site.,

Andrew Sullivan, “Democracies End When They Are Too Democratic,” New York Magazine, May 1, 2016: Links to an external site.

Michigan’s Groundbreaking Redistricting Plan Has Its Roots in Ancient Athens,” Fast Company website, October 1, 2020: Links to an external site. Links to an external site.

 

Questions & Prompts:

  1. Are democracies more susceptible than other regimes to overthrow by tyrants? 
  2. Why did ancient democracies view election as an undemocratic way of choosing individuals for public office? What other ways of allocating political power are possible?
  3. How did ancient democracies ensure high levels of civic engagement and how might we achieve greater engagement in our own democracy?
  4. In what ways might modern democracies adapt the practice of sortition, that is the random selection of citizen-assemblies, to strengthen citizen engagement?
  5. Think about how you might contrast the arguments presented by Andrew Sullivan with  the State of Michigan’s recent “experiment in democratic governance.”



Notes on How to Have an Inclusive Conversation 

Please use caution with these materials. Practice active listening. Try not to assume bad motives and welcome all perspectives into the conversation. You might want to establish ground rules or guidelines for navigating discussions. Here are some common ways to approach this task. Take a few minutes to discuss these with all of the members of your group. Make changes as needed.

  • Listen respectfully, without interrupting.
  • Listen actively and with an ear to understanding others' views. (Don’t just think about what you are going to say while someone else is talking.)
  • Criticize ideas, not individuals.
  • Commit to learning, not debating. Comment in order to share information, not to persuade.
  • Avoid blame, speculation, and inflammatory language.
  • Allow everyone the chance to speak. "Monitor your airtime" and remember that including everyone is a shared responsibility that involves us all
  • Avoid assumptions about any member of the class or generalizations about social groups. Do not ask individuals to speak for their (perceived) social group.
  • Remember that online communication can be even more challenging. If you need to step away use the "chat" function to let the group know, and return as soon as possible. Let people know what's going on to avoid misunderstandings.

Before group conversations take a moment and review the ground rules, and make sure that everyone has agreed to abide by them.