Critical Theory “Thinking Critically with Critical Theory”

This chapter offers lessons and reflections on teaching International Relations theory in the critical tradition. Dunton taught a course in IR theory in which she focused heavily on literature from the twenty-first century. Given the trajectory of the discipline, this meant that the class was primarily built on literature in the critical tradition. She offers two key reflections that may be valuable to other instructors. First, the evolution of critical IR and the political conditions of the twenty-first century are interconnected, making critical theory important for understanding contemporary global politics. Second, focusing on critical theory is a useful way to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in syllabi and in the discipline, as it goes beyond simply changing the reading list to reflect more “identities”. This is because critical theory includes different ways of knowing, researching, thinking about the world, and doing politics.