Khristina H. Haddad, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Moravian College
Bethlehem, PA 18018
What should we do?
Inviting Students into Theory through Action
Before I began my first teaching job at Moravian College in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, helpful colleagues warned me that my future students might not be
particularly theory inclined. My challenge was to design an introduction to political
theory that would be compelling to students highly interested in contemporary politics
and activism and less excited about theoretical inquiry. To be able to share the rich,
imaginative, and energizing possibilities of this field is precisely what makes teaching
political theory such gratifying work. Therefore, I took seriously the challenge of
designing an introductory political theory course that could draw in students traditionally
less likely to be interested in questions about normative frameworks, the history of ideas,
and the skills of argumentation. The following article recounts the development and
experiences of teaching a political theory course thematically centered on action. In a
world impatient with thought and much more appreciative of the virtues of action, or at
least activity, it seems like a promising move to place action at the heart of the study of
thought.
The invitation
The guiding question of this class is What should we do? This question
effectively serves as an invitation to the student to enter into a semester-long discussion
with the course texts, other students, and myself. In my mind, it encapsulates three
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Convention