Liberalisms: Faculty Research Colloquium and Lecture Series Fall 2006 Deliberative Democracy

Liberal democracies of the kind we see forming around the world are only the beginning of what Benjamin Barber has called strong democracies. Thin, liberal democracies provide the constitutional essentials of universal suffrage, freedom of press and assembly, etc. but this in no way guarantees that the citizens of these societies will see themselves as any more than isolated individuals who periodically vote (if they choose to do so). Recent work in "Citizenship Theory" has made clear that "the health and stability of a modern democracy depends, not only on the justice of its basic institutions, but also on the qualities and attitudes of its citizens" (Kymlicka). These qualities and attitudes are often highlighted by proponents of Deliberative Democracy and emphasize the role of the citizen in becoming a truly informed and engaged individual, a person willing to listen to all sides and willing to let the force of the better argument (in all its richness) become a guide to opinion formation. This Fall the Humanities Center will explore the idea of Deliberative Democracy as both a theory and a practice.

Leader: Robert Cavalier

Lecture Schedule

September

Benjamin Barber
"The Decline of Capitalism and the Infantilist Ethos"
September 21, 4:30PM
McConomy Auditorium, Carnegie Mellon University

October

S.M. Amadae
"The Rationalizing of Capitalist Democracy: Cold War Rationality at a Crossroads with Deliberative Democracy?"
October 26, Time: 4:30
Location: Porter Hall, Room 100, Carnegie Mellon University

Christian List
"Deliberation, Single-Peakedness, and the Possibility of Meaningful Democracy"
October 30, Time: 4:30
Location: Porter Hall, Room 100, Carnegie Mellon University

November

Vincent Price
"Assessing Deliberative Democracy"
November 6, Time: 4:30
Location: Porter Hall, Room 100, Carnegie Mellon University

December

Greg Crowley
"Making Citizen Participation Count: Practical issues in Local Deliberative Polling"
December 7, Time: 4:30
Location: Porter Hall, Room 100, Carnegie Mellon University

February

Gerry Mackie
"Democracy Defended"
February 20, Time: 4:30
Location: College Conference Room, Baker Hall 154R,
Carnegie Mellon University