Workshop: Introducing Theory in the Classroom
Sunday, November 23, 2:45 PM-5:05 PM—Marriott Marquis-Solana.
This NAASR workshop is in conjunction with the AAR/SBL annual meeting.
This workshop—limited to approximately 15 participants—will focus on practical steps for introducing theory in the classroom. If you are interested in participating, please email the organizer, Tara Baldrick-Morrone ([email protected]). Participants will also be asked to read three essays on theory and the introductory course in preparation for the workshop (essays are TBD).
The organizers will place the participants into groups by question before the workshop. The three questions that we will address are:
1. Who? Which theorists should be included in an introductory course, and which theorists should be excluded? Just as we must be self-conscious with our choices of data, so too must we be with our choices of theory. Simply, “why ‘this’ rather than ‘that’”?
2. What? If “there is nothing that must be taught,” what data should be included in an introductory course? How does one decide what to keep and what to discard? Are there “necessary” data that one must teach when “covering” certain ideas?
3. Where? Where should theory be placed in the structure of a course? At the end after the data have been presented? At the beginning in order to provide a lens through which the data should be considered? Throughout the semester? What are the benefits/drawbacks of each approach?
Participation: the organizers of this workshop encourage graduate students, adjuncts, and full time faculty to participate in order to bring your unique experiences to the table.
Workshop Leaders:
Tara Baldrick-Morrone
Rebekka King
Suzanne Owen
Matt Sheedy
