This course focuses on several of the key political challenges directed at contemporary democratic theory and practice. It has become commonplace to claim that liberal democratic states are insufficiently democratic in their political processes and that they are neither as representative nor as inclusive of the citizens they purport to represent. We will examine these and other criticisms of contemporary politics as well as of the liberal and democratic political theories that underpin them. The course also provides an opportunity to explore some democratic alternatives advanced by proponents of such approaches as deliberative democracy, associative democracy, multicultural or pluralist democracy, and republicanism. Among the authors we will read are Seyla Benhabib, James Bohman, Joseph Carens, Robert Dahl, John Dryzek, Lani Guinier, Jurgen Habermas, Phillip Pettit, Anne Phillips, and Iris Marion Young. Format: seminar. Requirements: regular seminar response pieces; one mid-term essay (8-10 pp) and one final research paper (15-20 pp). Prerequisites: junior or senior standing and two courses in political theory, permission of instructor is required for this course. Enrollment limit: 15 (expected: 15). Preference given to Political Science majors. Political Theory Subfield