In 2016, the United States was downgraded from "full democracy" to "flawed democracy" in an annual ranking of global democracies because of practices like, restrictions to ballot access and gerrymandering. Of course, the people making those changes claimed that they were preserving democracy, which raises the question, "what is democracy?" This class will work towards a model of what democracy is, or what it should be. The merits of democracy have been debated since classical times, and today is under unprecedented stress. We will assess historical and contemporary arguments for and against democracy, ultimately asking, "is it worth preserving?" Through this examination, students will learn the basics of democratic theory and will critically assess the current changes to democracy at home and abroad.