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AEC3182H Citizenship Learning and Participatory Democracy: Citizen Participation in the Global South

Dr. Bettina von Lieres Venue: 7-105 Course Times: Friday 9:30-12:30 Office: 7-182 Consultation hours: Fridays, 1-2 pm.

Course description Themes This course focuses on recent theories and practices of citizen participation in a wide range of contexts in the global South - an important area in the study of adult learning since at least the time of Paulo Freire. We will be looking at work by researchers and practitioners—e.g. Naila Kabeer, Evelina Dagnino, Partha Chatterjee, Gianpaolo Baiocchi, Andrea Cornwall, John Gaventa and Vera Shattan Coelho—who argue that democratic citizenship should mean more than having formal rights and status: it should involve deeper forms of political inclusion and direct participation in decision-making on political and policy issues. The course begins by exploring recent debates and theories in development on the challenges of “citizenship learning” and “deepening democracy” through more substantive forms of citizen participation than is found in representative democracy alone. We then move on to explore case studies of new forms of citizen participation from diverse political contexts in the global south, including Angola, Brazil, Bangladesh, Kenya, India and South Africa. Through these case studies we will explore the politics of citizen participation, focussing on the conditions under which new forms of citizen participation and citizenship learning can help to improve access to social goods and other democratic outcomes for poor communities. In particular we will look at the role citizen participation can play in enabling poor people to claim active citizenship through forms of collective action, solidarity networks and popular education. The following questions and themes will be examined throughout the course:

• How do poor people in differing contexts understand and claim citizenship, and the rights they associate with it?

• How do citizens mobilize around rights and learn about democracy and political participation?

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• How does citizen mobilization contribute to the strengthening of democratic practices, institutions and cultures, and with it the ability of these institutions to be more responsive to citizens’ demands? We will examine how citizen mobilization influences the possibility of building responsive institutions and deepening democracy, and the links between various strategies for citizen mobilization and the different outcomes they produce.

• What are the dynamics of global citizen engagements, and how do they affect understandings, practices and outcomes of citizenship at the local and national levels? We will look at the limits and possibilities of local citizen engagement in a world of globalising authorities, but conversely at the limits and possibilities of global action for bringing about concrete change at the grassroots.

Course Material We will take up these and other themes through theoretical readings and discussion, and also by bringing theory into dialogue with practice. We will focus on case studies contained in a large archive of research on citizen participation assembled by the Centre for Citizenship, Participation and Accountability (ww.drc-citizenship.org), based at the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Sussex, UK: much of this research is on our reading list.

Class format This course will be a participatory seminar which includes short lectures, students presentations and different types of classroom conversations in order to allow for meaningful participation by all students. Everyone will be expected to show up ready to participate, based on careful preparation with course materials. During one week of the course will engage in a trans-national dialogue on citizenship with students at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.

Learning goals Students who participate and contribute fully through the term will finish the course: • Understanding a range of theoretical and activist perspectives on development and citizen participation in the global South; • Familiar with the strengths and limitations of particular forms of citizen participation and engagement; • More experienced in moving from theory to practice to theory, and in relating abstract material to case studies.

Getting the course readings Most of the readings will be made available as photocopies in a course pack. Some will be made available electronically, and links or pdfs will be posted.

Weekly breakdown Week 1: January 7: Introduction Week 2: January 14: Approaches to citizenship: debates, concepts, issues Naila Kabeer, “Citizenship, Affiliation and Exclusion: Perspectives from the South”, IDS Bulletin, Vol.

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33, No. 3 (2002). IDS, Brighton. Thomas Janoski and Brian Gran, “Political Citizenship: Foundation of Rights”, in Engin F. Isin and Bryan Turner (eds.) Handbook of Citizenship Studies (London: Sage, 2002): 13-52. http://search2.library.utoronto.ca/UTL/index?N=0&Nr=p_catalog_code:4756158&showDetail=first

Partha Chatterjee, The Politics of the Governed: Reflections on Popular Politics in Most of the World, (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005): 27-77. http://search2.library.utoronto.ca/UTL/index?N=0&Nr=p_catalog_code:5117428&showDetail=first

Week 3: January 21: Citizenship and participatory democracy John Gaventa, “Triumph, Deficit or Contestation: Deepening the Deepening Democracy Debate”, IDS Working Paper 264, (Brighton, CDRC, IDS, 2006). http://www.ntd.co.uk/idsbookshop/details.asp?id=944

Andrea Cornwall, “Making Spaces, Changing Places: Situating Participation in Development” IDS Working Paper 170, (Brighton, CDRC, IDS, 2002).http://www.ids.ac.uk/download.cfm?file=wp170.pdf

Week 4: January 28: Citizen participation and democratic outcomes John Gaventa and Greg Barrett (2010), “So What Difference Does it Make? Mapping the Outcomes of Citizen Engagement”, IDS Working Paper 347, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton. http://www.ntd.co.uk/idsbookshop/details.asp?id=1197

Daniel Shugurensky, “Citizen Participation and its Discontents”, in Daly, K, Shugurensky, D and Krista Lopes (eds.) Learning Democracy by Doing: Alternative Practices in Citizenship Learning and Participatory Democracy, Transformative Learning Centre, OISE/UT (2009), pp.44-55.

Week 5: February 4: The politics of citizen participation in the global south James Holston, Insurgent Citizenship: Disjunctions of Democracy and Modernity in Brazil, (Princeton University Press: Princeton, 2009): Chapter 8. http://search1.library.utoronto.ca/UTL/index?N=0&Nr=p_catalog_code:6279684&showDetail=first

Pearce, J. (2007) Violence, Power and Participation: Building Citizenship in Contexts of Chronic Violence, IDS Working Paper 274, Brighton: IDS. http://www.ids.ac.uk/download.cfm?file=wp274.pdf Steven Robins, Andrea Cornwall, and Bettina von Lieres, “Citizen Participation in the Post-Colony,” Third World Quarterly 29,6 (2008): 1069-1086. http://simplelink.library.utoronto.ca/url.cfm/86653

Week 6: February 11: Brazil: Participatory governance and citizenship learning Andrea Cornwall, Jorge Romano and Alex Shankland (2008), “Brazilian Experiences of Participation and Citizenship: A Critical Look”, IDS Working Paper 389, Brighton: IDS. http://www.research4development.info/PDF/Outputs/CentreOnCitizenship/dp389.pdf

Dagnino, E. (2005) Meanings of Citizenship in Latin America, IDS Working Paper 258, Brighton: IDS. http://www.ntd.co.uk/idsbookshop/details.asp?id=903

Shankland, A. (2010) ‘”We Got It into Our Heads that We Should Do the Job of the State”: The Indigenous Peoples’ Movement, “Forest Citizenship” and Struggles over Health Services in Acre,

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Brazil’, in V. Schattan Coelho and B. von Lieres (eds.) Mobilising for Democracy: Citizen Action and the Politics of Public Participation, London and New York: Zed Gianpaolo Baiocchi, “Participation, Activism and Politics: The Porto Alegre Experiment and Deliberative Democratic Theory,” Politics and Society, 29, 1 (2001): 43-72. http://simplelink.library.utoronto.ca/url.cfm/86632

Coelho, V. (2007) ‘Brazilian Health Councils: Including the Excluded?’ in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds.) |Spaces for Change? The Politics of Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London and New York: Zed Film: www.beyondelections.com

Week 7: February 18: Bangladesh: learning, understanding and claiming citizenship Naila Kabeer, Simeen Mahmud and Jairo Guillermo Isaza Castro, NGOs Strategies and the Challenge of Development and Democracy in Bangladesh, IDS Working Paper (343), IDS: Brighton, 2010. Naila Kabeer, ‘’Growing’ citizenship from the grassroots: Nijera Kori and social mobilization in Bangladesh”, in Naila Kabeer (ed), Inclusive Citizenship: Meanings and Expressions, (London: Zed Books, 2005): 181-198. Huq, S.P. (2005) ‘Bodies as Sites of Struggle: Naripokkho and the Movement for Women’s Rights in Bangladesh’, in N. Kabeer (ed.) (2005) Inclusive Citizenship: Meanings and Expressions. London and New York: Zed http://search1.library.utoronto.ca/UTL/index?N=0&Nr=p_catalog_code:5429115&showDetail=first

Week 8: March 4: Angola and Kenya: Building and sustaining citizen participation in fragile contexts Ferreira,I. and Roque, S. (2010) ‘The Nucleo Representativo das Associações (NRA) do Dombe Grande: Building Democracy and Citizenship at the Local Level’, in V. Schattan Coelho and B. von Lieres (eds.) Mobilising for Democracy: Citizen Action and the Politics of Public Participation, London and New York: Zed. Roque, S. and Shankland, A. (2007) ‘Participation, Mutation and Political Transition: New Democratic Spaces in Peri-urban Angola’, in A. Cornwall and V. Schattan Coelho (eds.) Spaces for Change? The Politics of Participation in New Democratic Arenas, London and New York: Zed. Nyamu-Musembi, C. (2010) ‘Have Civil Society Organizations’ Political Empowerment Programs at the Grassroots Level Contributed to Deepening of Democracy in Kenya?’ in V. Schattan Coelho and B. von Lieres (eds.) Mobilising for Democracy: Citizen Action and the Politics of Public Participation, London and New York: Zed.

Week 9: March 11: India and South Africa: Scaling up citizen participation in middle-income countries Mohanty, R., (2010) ‘The Infinite Agenda of Social Justice: Dalit Mobilization in Indian Institutions of Local Governance’, in V. Schattan Coelho and B. von Lieres (eds.) Mobilising for Democracy: Citizen Action and the Politics of Public Participation, London and New York: Zed.

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Friedman, S. (2010) ‘Gaining Comprehensive AIDS Treatment in South Africa: The Extraordinary “Ordinary”’, in J. Gaventa and R. McGee (eds.) Citizen Action and National Policy: Making Change Happen, London and New York: Zed.

Week 10: March 18: The dynamics of global citizen participation Gaventa, J. and Mayo, M. (2010) ‘Spanning Citizenship Spaces through Transnational Coalitions: The Case of the Global Campaign for Education’, in J. Gaventa and R. Tandon (eds.) (2010) Globalizing Citizens: New Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion, London and New York: Zed. Robins, S. (2010) ‘Mobilising and Mediating Global Medicine in Health Citizenship: The Politics of AIDS Knowledge Production in Rural South Africa’, in J. Gaventa and R. Tandon (eds.) (2010) Globalizing Citizens: New Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion, London and New York: Zed.

Week 12: March 25: Guest Speaker TBA April 1: Wrap-up Class Daniel Shugurensky, “Citizenship Learning for and through Participatory Democracy”, in Daly, K, Shugurensky, D and Krista Lopes (eds.) Learning Democracy by Doing: Alternative Practices in Citizenship Learning and Participatory Democracy, Transformative Learning Centre, OISE/UT (2009), pp. 723-733.

Course requirements 1. Article Synthesis and presentation: 40% 2. Final Major Essay: 60%

Article synthesis - 40% Each student will prepare, write up and present a short synthesis of an article listed on the course’s reading list. I’ll say more about this assignment, and its evaluation criteria, in our first meeting. Late synthesis assignments will be accepted with a penalty of 5% deduction in grade per day late, except in case of documented emergency.

Final major essay — 60%: due: April 14, 2010 Each student will write a final, 3000-3500 word paper for the course. We’ll talk much more about these papers as the term progresses. Late final essay will be accepted with a penalty of 5% deduction in grade per day late, except in case of documented emergency.

Other info Specialized support & disability services: Students with disabilities or special needs that require accommodation so they can meet their potential

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in the course should contact me right away with the appropriate documentation. We will work out a

suitable accommodation, if necessary in consultation with the office of Specialized Support &

Disability. Services.

A WARNING ABOUT PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is an academic offence with a severe penalty. It is essential that you understand what plagiarism is and that you do not commit it. In essence, it is the theft of the thoughts or words of others, without giving proper credit. You must put others’ words in quotation marks and cite your source(s). You must give citations when using others’ ideas, even if those ideas are paraphrased in your own words. Plagiarism is unacceptable in a university.

The University of Toronto provides a process that faculty members must initiate when the suspect a case of plagiarism. In the Department of Political Science, suspected evidence of plagiarism must be reported to the Chairman.

A faculty member may not mark an assignment or assess a penalty if he or she finds evidence of plagiarism – the matter must be reported. The Chairman, or Dean, will assess the penalty.

The following are some examples of plagiarism:

1. Submitting as your own an assignment written by someone else. 2. Quoting an author without indicating the source of the words. 3. Using words, sentences, or paragraphs written by someone else and failing to place quotation

marks around the material and reference the source and author. Using either quotation marks or reference alone is not sufficient. Both must be used!

4. Adapting an author’s ideas or theme and using it as your own without referencing the original source.

5. Seeking assistance from a friend or family member in respect to work you claim as your own. If you are not sure whether you have committed plagiarism, it is better to ask a faculty member than risk discovery and be forced to accept an academic penalty. Plagiarism is cheating. It is considered a serious offence against intellectual honesty and intellectual property. Penalties for an undergraduate can be severe. At a minimum, a student is likely to receive a “0” mark for the assignment or test in question. But a further penalty is often assessed, such as a further reduction from the course mark or placing a permanent notation of the incident on an academic record. Some website listed below on avoiding plagiarism: ‘How to Use Sources and Avoid Plagiarism’ - available at: http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/plagsep.html and http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/document.html Other Advisory Material available at: www.utoronto.ca/writing