These courses will focus on an advanced topic, issue, concept, or problem in political theory. In the fall semester 2011-2012, the course offered will be:
PSC 373 Topics in Political Theory
Technology & Democracy I: Reputation
In this course, we will examine the evolution of reputation due to changing privacy standards associated with the rise of social media like Facebook and Twitter. We will also look at how this ‘new’ type of reputation might affect both electoral politics and democratic political theory. What are the consequences for elections when most candidates have embarrassing pictures on Facebook? Do citizens in a democracy have a right to reinvent themselves that might be curtailed by a ‘permanent record’ on the internet? How should liberty of expression be treated in a technologically advanced democratic society? Readings will be drawn from contemporary democratic theorists, the literature on elections, and literature on technology and privacy rights. PSC majors may count this course as either a Political Theory elective or an American politics elective.
Prerequisite: Political Science 231 or permission of the instructor.
