Democracy

In my undergraduate career, I took an English course entitled "Everything is an Argument."  Essentially we were instructed to outline our argument and juxtapose it against the opposing argument.  We were told to start with our weakest argument  and to conclude with our home run argument.  This philosophy seems to fit well within the field of political science.

When reviewing resources the library, Democracy caught my eye.  It is a compilation of essays regarding democracy.  In a recent information literacy instruction ride-a-long for my Academic Library class, the librarian recommended the Opposing Viewpoint database to a student struggling to determine a research topic.  Democracy is part of the Opposing View point series and thus serves the same purpose though in a print format.

Scope:  Democracy is limited to the topic of Democracy, however it is not limited to democracy in any particular reason.  Democracy is one facet of political science, but it represents an issue of great global importance. It is also an important starting point for the novice Political Science student.

Audience:   The Library of Congress subject heading is Democracy-Juvenile.  The juvenile refers to young adult.  And while this resource is well suited for a high school student, it is equally well suited for a first year political science student or as a staring point for brainstorming an undergraduate assignment. 

Timeliness:  Printed in 2012, Democracy relevant to the current issues surrounding global democracy and is valuable information for a novice political science student.  It also provides a snapshot of democracy in 2012.  It discusses the struggles in Egypt, which were quasi-settled last year but have recently re-erupted.  There is limited information on Syria but information regarding Democracy in the Middle East pertains to Syria.

Authority:   Democracy is a collection of essays or papers written by many contributors. Some essays/articles were printed in popular magazines like The Economist.  Many, if not all the contributions are by experts on Democracy

Objectivity:  The individual essays may lack objectivity but as a whole Democracy presents a variety of viewpoints on such topics as "The State of Democracy Worldwide," "Democracy in the Middle East," Improving US Democracy" and "The US Fostering Democracy Worldwide."

Thinking back to my undergraduate days, I wish I had access to a book like this or to the Opposing Viewpoints database.  If it is true that Everything's an Argument, then this is a great place to start.  For a  novice political science student, it allows exploration of the multitude of sides to arguments regarding democracy.  

Reference:

Haugen, D.  and Musser, S. (Eds.). (2012).  Democracy. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.