Wake 'em Up: Survey Engagement through Controversial Topics

The eternal challenge of the survey instructor - how to engage the students? One excellent tool is mentioning the 'unmentionable' topics of sex, politics, and religion that students have probably not heard previously in a history classroom. Using evidence gathered from both students and scholars at community colleges, I argue that encouraging students to address historical topics that are currently newsworthy or otherwise important to their community is the best way to make them pay attention. It's not enough to simply present controversial topics and 'watch the fireworks'- scholars must use these controversial topics to guide students towards broader historical topics and liberal arts tasks such as critical reading, writing, and thinking. For example, professors teaching the first half of the survey might use sources from Joseph Moore's Founding Sins to discuss the religious origins of the United States. Moore's subjects are a group of American Christians who condemned the new Constitution for its secularism. Later, sources from Rachel Cleves's Charity and Sylvia could be used to teach about Jacksonian gender roles in the context of discussing same-sex unions in the early 19th century. Other teachers working in the so-called "Age of Jackson" might use the public statements of the Trump administration about the Jackson Presidency to encourage students to draw historic parallels between Jacksonian and Trumpian nationalism. Controversy is something many instructors shy away from, especially those teaching non-traditional students, students whose politics they may not share, or others who they think might not have a productive discussion. Certainly, these topics should be used carefully, and presented professionally - but generally students appreciate the chance to apply historical thinking to the world around them, and the chance to be treated as responsible adults capable of conducting a rational discussion.