COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Name: Citizenship and Governance (CITIGOV)
Term: Term 1, AY 2011-2012
College: College of Liberal Arts
Department: Political Science
Course Code: A66 and A67
Class Days: MH, TF
Class time: 1620-1750
Room: M317, y501
Name of Faculty: Lucinda David, Lucinda_david(at)yahoo.com, +639053736218
Consultation Hours: MH 1440-1610, TF 1510-1610
Course Description
The ideal situation is when the practice of citizenship is itself governance. However in the history of political communities, we encounter practices of governance which equate citizenship merely with obedience, unity and voting which demonstrates a fundamental misunderstand of what constitutes real citizenship. Only recently has governance taken on the meaning of increasing citizen participation through various manifestations of association in civil society. This is usually attributed to the diminishing role of government in governance.
Civil society substitutes for functions that government continues to abandon or fail to fulfill. Yet, is citizen participation in governance an indication of a weakening state? The need for responsible citizenship might be urgently needed because of the failure of the state but in principle, it is a feature of a healthy and thriving democracy.
This course provides students with a setting to critically examine and evaluate the multiple expressions of citizenship in democratic governance. It also makes possible an exploration of the nexus between citizenship and governance in theory and in practice.
In particular, students will contextualize citizenship and governance through the Philippine experience and in the actual practice of citizenship in class projects that promote democractic agency, whatever politics the individual may subscribe to. Transformative learning is the primary method of the course. The classroom (and the university) itself is a site of governance wherein the students can make a difference as citizens.
Course Objectives/Value
By the end of the term, students are expected to be able to:
- Critically determine the meaning and significance of the concept of citizenship, define their own citizenship path and skillfully interpret, articulate and evaluate through observation, communication, information and argumentation its link to democratic governance.
- Communicate ideas, information, and arguments orally, i.e. discussion, speeches, debates, presentation, etc., and in writing the notion and practice of citizenship and its relation to the development/underdevelopment of society, government, and the world.
- Internalize and demonstrate the values of social responsibility, responsible citizenship, and commitment to the advancement of the common good, justice, freedom, human rights, and rule of law.
- Practice citizenship through a group project that promotes good democratic governance and collaborative learning.
Learning Methods and Strategies
The course will employ a variety of learning activities, including:
- Lecture-discussions,
- In-class exercises and activities such as topical debates
- Writing and publishing of analytical papers contributing to world discourse
- Film viewing or showing of relevant you tube videos
- Fieldwork and other participatory activities
- Group project planning, implementation, and presentation
Course Requirements and Grading
The following are the requirements for the course and their equivalent:
Class participation, including debates 30%
Short papers, notes and blog entries 20%
Group Project 30%
Final Exam 20%
Schedule and Output for Group Project
Weeks 1 to 3 – tentative list of Philippine governance and citizenship issues that interest the students and that they see themselves as working on for the group project that will run throughout the whole term and will be the final project.
Weeks 4 to 6 – description of the governance/citizenship issues (e.g., what is the problem? how did it arise? what are the causes? what are the effects? who or what are affected? etc.), as well as accounts of government and civil society involvement in these issues.
Beginning of Week 6 – strategies, solutions, plans: students insert themselves into the governance issues they have identified and described earlier, appropriating these governance issues as their own, and situating themselves as citizens in these specific governance contexts by devising strategies and solutions
Beginning of Week 7 to end of Week 10 – implementation: students implement their plans
Weeks 11 to 12 – group project presentations: the presentations should include a description of their governance issue, a narration of their activities and efforts to address the issue, an evaluation of their effectiveness and recognition/understanding of problems they have encountered, and a reflection on what they have learned individually and as a group
Weeks 13-14 – course integration and final exam
Course Topics
Weeks 1 to 3
Will I make a difference?
Introduction:
Wherein students get to familiarize themselves with the concepts of citizenship and governance foremost, while exploring the related concepts of government, state, society, and the self (or the individual). These will be contextualized with an ideal type derived from an historical practice: People Power I and People Power 2. At the end of the second week, students are to produce an initial list of Philippine governance and citizenship issues that they will work on as group projects for the rest of the course. A timeline of our democratic development as a nation will be established and noted agents of democracy will be recognized.
Content
1. Understanding state, government and society; understanding the self (individual) as citizen
2. Governance and citizenship: the experience of People power 1 and 2 as the ideal manifestation of democracy and governance.
Activity
Debate
Motion: This House would give two votes to the poor.
Resources
Rousseau, J. and G.D.H Cole. The Social Contract.
There’s the Rub (weekly column) by Conrado De Quiros.
Putnam, Robert (1993) Bowling Alone, Chapter 1-5, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Weeks 3 to 6
Where will I make a difference?
Sites of Governance: Wherein students will learn the historically changing role and functions of government and of civil society in governance; the current thinking and practices of governance; as well as, principles and requirements of good and effective democratic governance. These will be contextualized by specific governance practices in the Philippines as demonstrated by the governance issues identified earlier by the students as possible group projects or by a specific governance issue determined by the facilitator. At this point, the aim is a description of these governance issues, as well as accounts of government and civil society involvement in these issues.
Content
1. Governance and government
2. Governance and society
3. Democratic governance: political efficacy, social capital, economic capacity
Resources
Putnam, Robert (1993) Bowling Alone, Chapter 6-9, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Lott, J and L. Kenny [1999], “How Dramatically Did Women’s Suffrage Change the
Size and Scope of Government”, Journal of Political Economy 107, 1163-1198. JSTOR
Activity:
Debate
Weeks 6 to 9
How will I make a difference?
Paths to Citizenship: Wherein students understand themselves as individuals and citizens, learn how they constitute (themselves) and are constituted as such by the state and societal structures. At the most basic, they learn about Filipino citizenship as defined in the Philippine Constitution and as practiced through the country’s laws and institutions. Students also appreciate that individuality and citizenship imply affinities and belongingness (foremost of which is the nation), as well as authorities (state, church, market). They become aware to the requirements, entitlements as well as limits of citizenship, that the structures and processes of governance is ultimately dependent upon individual willingness to see themselves as parts of a social whole; that is, that the pursuit of individual happiness runs parallel with the attainment of the common good. These will be contextualized by the group projects: herein, students insert themselves into the governance issues they have identified and described earlier, appropriating these governance issues as their own, devising strategies and solutions, situating themselves as citizens in these specific governance contexts.
Content
1. The Philippine constitution and Filipino citizenship
2. Self, citizenship and social responsibility
3. Democratic citizenship: participation, sociality, economic well-being
Resources
Diokno, Maria Serena (1997). Democracy and Citizenship in Filipino Political Culture. Quezon City: Third World Studies Center.
Sen, Amartya (1994). Development as Freedom (Chapter 5-7), Anchor Books.
Fukuyama, Francis. Social Capital and Civil Society. From www.imf.org
Putnam, Robert (1993) Bowling Alone, Chapter 10-15, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Activity
Debate
Weeks 10 to 12
Nexus: Citizen Governance in Practice
Group Project Presentations: Wherein students present their projects. The students, in the course of their projects, are required to document their progress and to report such in regular group consultations. The presentation is a show for their fellow students. They are encouraged to be as creative in their shows as possible. They should also view their presentations as a kind of pitch, an opportunity wherein the goal is to involve and persuade their fellow students to become citizens in their governance projects. The presentations should include a description of their governance issue, a narration of their activities and efforts to address the issue, an evaluation of their effectiveness and recognition/understanding of problems they have encountered, and a reflection on what they have learned individually and as a group.
Refences
Putnam, Robert (1993) Bowling Alone, Chapter 16-22, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Week 13
Course Integration
Week 14
Exam Objective and Essays on Citizenship
Other Web References
The following are annotated websites that students can access for more information and elaboration on concepts and issues discussed during class sessions.
http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi2007/mc_countries.asp
Worldwide Governance Indicators
http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2004/mar2004/161434.HTM
The Supreme Court decision (majority and dissenting) on the citizenship of Fernando Poe Jr. http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2004/mar2004/161434_carpio.htm
Tecson vs Comelec : 161434 and Tecson vs Desiderio
http://www.cultureunplugged.com
Short films on hunger in the Philippines and on human rights
Reading materials on responsible citizenship and governance
Citigov 
0 Comments