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Canadian Political Science Association2025 Annual Conference Programme
The Politics of Belonging: Conflict,
Community, Curriculum
Hosted at George Brown College, Toronto, CANADA
June 3 to June 5, 20252025 Annual Conference Programme
The Politics of Belonging: Conflict,
Community, Curriculum
Hosted at George Brown College
June 3 to June 5, 2025
Teaching
M01 - Roundtable: Teaching Theory and the Decline of Deep Reading
Date: Jun 3 | Time: 08:30am to 10:00am | Location:
Chair/Président/Présidente : Mira Bachvarova (University of New Brunswick)
Mira Bachvarova (University of New Brunswick)Suzanne Hindmarch (University of New Brunswick)
Dimitrios Panagos (Memorial University)
Siobhan Byrne (University of Alberta)
Abstract: It has always been rare to encounter a classroom where all undergraduates regularly complete all assigned readings; and even more rare for students to be comfortable with dense and abstract academic writing. In recent years, however, there has been a shift in how youth engage with reading in general - both in terms of what and how much they read, and in terms of how they process different forms of text. More specifically, there is evidence of a decline in ‘deep reading’ skills, likely driven by students’ lifelong immersion in the digital world and the effects that this immersion has on learning (Baron, 2021; Baron and Mangen, 2021; McMurtie 2024; Horowitch 2024). What does the decline of ‘deep reading’ mean for the future of teaching political theory? What are its implications for what texts get assigned, and what methods of assessment are prioritized? How does this trend affect efforts to expose students to different traditions and ways of doing theory? In this roundtable we take up these questions and consider what the shift in reading skills and habits means, both for political theorists and for those teaching theory in other subfields of political science. Roundtable participants will share their experiences in dealing with this phenomenon, and share stories of success and failure in the classroom. Considering both challenges and potential opportunities linked to the decline of deep reading, we hope to sketch out a picture of "best practices" and a longer-term view of where teaching theory may be headed.