MABM220 Демокрацията в американската и британската ценностна система

Анотация:

Modern democracy has a long prehistory, beginning with the free cities of ancient Greece. Representative government was introduced by the ancient Germans in the early Middle Ages, but modern democracy is hardly thinkable without the political experience of medieval England. The English form of parliamentary rule and the constant expansion of guarantees for the individual freedoms and rights were at the basis of the growing self-government of the British colonies in North America, which eventually led to the 1776 Declaration of Independence and to the 1787 Constitution of the United States.

From the early 19th century a growing number of countries summarized mainly the British political experience by adopting various forms of constitutional monarchy, whereas the 20th century saw the emergence of a series of republics. A significant number of these republics introduced also federalism as an additional instrument of control of the government by the governed, following more or less the example of the United States.

Nowadays democracy is taken for granted even in countries like Bulgaria and few people are aware that it results from a long and often dramatic development where England and America have played a crucial part. The course aims at acquainting the students with the basic documents of representative government and democracy in England and the United States of America.

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Американистика и британистика. Сравнителни изследвания (на английски език)

Преподавател(и):

гл. ас. Методи Методиев  д-р

Описание на курса:

Компетенции:

After ending the course the students will have a deeper knowledge about the impact of the British and American political experience on the emergence of modern democracy.

They will be able to assess the universal values of the Anglo-Saxon forms of representative government and the extent to which these values have become really universal.


Предварителни изисквания:
English language proficiency; a minimum of knowledge about the political history of England, Britain, and the United States.

Форми на провеждане:
Редовен

Учебни форми:
Лекция

Език, на който се води курса:
Английски

Теми, които се разглеждат в курса:

Литература по темите:

The American Republic. Primary Sources. Indianapolis, Liberty Fund, 2002

The Constitution of the United States of America with Explanatory Notes. S.l., S.d.

Средства за оценяване:

Students should prepare a short essay, not exceeding 100 Kb or one page. It should be sent to the MOODLE system under this course at the spot indicated as "Please, send your essay here". The essay should be defended, i.e. students should answer questions, asked by the professor about the text. There will be also a test at the end of the course. The grade results from the average grade of the defense of the essay and of the test.

Active participation in the forum under this course in the MOOODLE system will give a bonus of one unit, added to the final grade. The forum consists of answering questions, asked by the professor and of debating various subjects, related to the topics of the seminars.

Two students should not write an essay on one and the same subject. The essay is supposed to be a brief commentary on one of the following texts:

1.The Great Charter of Liberties from Article 1 to Article 55.

2.The Great Charter of Liberties from Article 56 to Article 63.

3.The English Bill of Rights from Part I to Part III.

4.The English Bill of Rights from Part IV to Part XIII.

5.The Declaration of Independence.

6.The Articles of Confederation from Article I to Article VIII.

7.The Articles of Confederation from Article IX to Article XIII.

8.Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist, Paper No.1.

9.Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist, Paper No.9.

10.James Madison, The Federalist, Paper No.10.

11.The Constitution of the United States of America, Article I.

12.The Constitution of the United States of America, Article II.

13.The Constitution of the United States of America, Articles III and IV.

14.The Constitution of the United States of America, Articles V, VI, and VII.

15.The American Bill of Rights, from Amendment 1 to Amendment 4.

16.The American Bill of Rights, from Amendment 5 to Amendment 10.

17.Amendments to the US Constitution, Amendment 11 and Amendment 12.

18.Amendments to the US Constitution, from Amendment 13 to Amendment 15.

19.Amendments to the US Constitution, Amendment 16, Amendment 18, and Amendment 21.

20.Amendments to the US Constitution, Amendment 17, Amendment 19, Amendment 20, and Amendment 22.

21.Amendments to the US Constitution, from Amendment 23 to Amendment 26.