Document Type
Proposal
Publication Date
1996
Department
Social Science and Human Services
Abstract
I wish to study the teaching of participatory democracy in entry level political science courses - Introduction to Political Science and American National Government. I believe that many Americans are distrustful of their elected leaders and cynical toward their governmental institutions. Signs of this malaise are declining voter turnouts, the success of negative campaigning ads, and the low level of discourse on talk radio shows. These conditions, if lasting, undermine democratic government's reliance on citizen participation.
Faculty who teach political science in the most democratic of higher learning institutions, the community colleges, should, I feel, analyze these factors to determine their consequences for the teaching of participatory democracy. We educate a large number of the people who take an interest in public affairs and bother to vote. In doing this we have real power to strengthen American democracy.
During my leave, I will examine: (a) the literature on participatory democracy, (b) how other faculty are dealing with distrust and cynicism in their teaching of participatory democracy, and (c) what additions or deletions should be made to the teaching of participatory democracy in Parkland College political science courses.
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Hartter, Allen, "Sabbatical Leave Proposal" (1996). Sabbaticals. 20.
https://spark.parkland.edu/sabbaticals/20
