The 2011 Teaching Political Theory and Theories track drew scholars
from Europe and the United States and featured work from political
scientists representing the four major subfields. While analyzing
the nine papers presented, participants articulated a range of
perspectives on questions of pedagogy and the relationship between
political theory and political science; indeed, the variety of
perspectives confirmed the ongoing contestability of many central
concepts in both the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTAL)
and the discipline of political science. Whether discussing ways to
develop assignments for undergraduate research projects on the Tea
Party or how to employ insights from deliberative democratic theory
to assess the role of education in addressing racial violence in the
United States, participants confronted important questions regarding
the role of theory in the discipline, the broadening of
undergraduate and graduate teaching strategies, and assessment of
the effectiveness of alternative teaching strategies.