MCL 335: Democracy: Ancient and American: Course Guide

Project 1 (15%) "Ancient Influencer"

• Create a social media campaign (e.g., on Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok) that educates followers about the democratic practices in Ancient Athens, Rome, and the U.S.
• In groups, design a series of historically accurate posts that compare the three systems of democracy. Include items such as images, videos, and infographics. Possibilities include posts about the role of citizens, voting methods, key events, and prominent figures in each society. Engage followers with polls, quizzes, and challenges related to democracy. Create hashtags to encourage participation, and make it shareable to maximize reach, to illustrate the evolution of democracy.
• Each group produces 20 posts.
• Present your group's results.

Project 2 (15%) "Voices of Democracy: Athens, Rome, and the U.S."

• Create a podcast as an audio-based exploration of democracy, appealing to an audience that prefers learning through discussion and storytelling.
• In groups, the class produces a historically accurate podcast series exploring the democratic principles and practices of Athens, Rome, and the U.S. Each episode will focus on a different theme or historical figure from each society.
• Record the podcast using software like Audacity or GarageBand. Possibilities include interviews with professors or students, discussions of key historical events, and a comparison of how democracy is understood in different historical contexts. Use techniques like storytelling, discussions of primary sources, and comparisons with modern democratic practices in the U.S.
• Each group produces 3 podcasts of 10-20 minutes in length.
• Present your group's results.

Please consult the following research guides for a list of recommended databases:

• MCLLC
• Classical Studies
• Political Science

Books on Ancient Greek Democracy

• Death to Tyrants! Ancient Greek Democracy and the Struggle Against Tyranny, By David Teegarden (2014) 
• The Athenian Revolution: Essays on Ancient Greek Democracy and Political Theory, By Josiah Ober (2020)
• Ancient Greek Democracy: Readings and Sources, By Eric Robinson (2004)
• The Law of Ancient Athens, By David Phillips (2013)

Books on Government in Ancient Rome

• SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, By Mary Beard (2015)
• Ancient Rome, By William Dunstan (2011)
• The Construction of Authority in Ancient Rome and Byzantium: The Rhetoric of Empire, By Sarolta Takacs (2009)
• The Ancient Romans: A Social and Political History from the Early Republic to the Death of Augustus, By Matthew Dillon (2015)

Books on American Democracy

• Legitimizing Authority: American Government and the Promise of Equality, By Boris Vormann, Christian Lammert, and Susan Gillespie (2023)
• Direct Democracy and Minority Rights: A Critical Assessment of the Tyranny of the Majority in the American States, By Daniel Lewis (2013)
• American Democracy and the Pursuit of Equality, By Merlin Chowkwanyun and Randa Serhan (2015)
• Athens, Rome, and England: America's Constitutional Heritage, By Matthew Pauley (2014)

Other Books

• Democracy: A Life, By Paul Cartledge (2016)
• Democracy, By David Haugen et al. (2012)
• The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today, By David Stasavage (2020)
• Democracy: A Very Short Introduction, By Bernard Crick (2002)

Images

• Oxford Art Online: Provides online full-text access to two major art reference works: the Grove Dictionary of Art and the Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Our Oxford Art Online subscription offers access to the Grove Dictionary of Art, the foremost scholarly art encyclopedia ("Grove Art"). It provides global coverage of visual culture from ancient to contemporary times, described in encyclopedia-style entries that are written and vetted by expert scholars. 
• The British Museum: Images: The British Museum's image licensing service offers unrivalled access to over two million years of human history and culture through its extensive collection of footage and images.

When searching in databases, use keywords that best represent your topic and separate those terms with the word OR in the search box. Use different search boxes for distinct concepts. See below for an example of a properly formatted database search. 

Be sure to put quotation marks around any search term with more than one word (e.g. "United States"). You can also insert an asterisk in a search term to see all variations of the word in the results list (e.g. democra* = democracy, democratic, etc.).

Use the limiters on the left-hand side of the search results screen to narrow your results. Usually, limiting by date and source type are good places to start. See image below. 

Depending on which citation format you use, cite your sources using either the MLA Handbook or the Chicago Manual of Style. The Purdue OWL is a very helpful resource that has formatting guides for both MLA and Chicago styles. Be aware that you can often copy citations when searching in databases (see image below) by clicking the quotations mark icon. While this is a quick and convenient trick, you will need to double-check the accuracy of the format because there will often be errors.  
 

I am here to help you. You can always email me (taylor.c.leigh@uky.edu) with questions. You can also request a individual or group consultation. That is a opportunity for us to discuss whatever issue you are having with your research process. Consultations can be done on Zoom, in-person, or even on the phone. You can email me or schedule a consultation by clicking the buttons under my profile picture at the top-right of this page. 

For definitions and information about primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, please see the following guide: Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Sources