Erik Olin Wright, Joel Rogers. (2009) Chapter 16. Democracy: how it works in American Society: How It Really Works, pp. 1-7. W.W. Norton.
![](https://websites.umass.edu/comm397ss-jsaxe/files/2012/01/GreekAssembly.jpg)
The General Assembly of Athenian Greece (7th century BCE) was direct rather than representative democracy, except that only adult male citizens could take part.
Reading questions – written response required
- Drawing from these authors, come up with a shorthand definition of how democracy works.
- From you own understanding, come up with 5 terms (words/phrases) that characterize democracy. These could refer to acts and/or values/ideals.
- General responses to the reading and what it says about democracy. How does it resonate with your experience? No more than a paragraph.
![](https://websites.umass.edu/comm397ss-jsaxe/files/2019/09/Ocupywashsq.jpg)
General Assembly, Occupy Wall Street was direct, participatory democracy where everyone has an equal vote with consensus the rule. Washington Square, NYC, Oct. 2011
Written assignments should be single-spaced & typed in Times New Roman or Arial (size 12 font), 1-inch margins all around. PROOFREAD! First page should have a heading (single-spaced) with name, date, and assignment title.