May 2, 2022 (Ottawa) — The new open-access textbook, Showing Theory to Know Theory: Understanding social science concepts through illustrative vignettes, is now available for adoption and classroom use. Published in collaboration with eCampusOntario, Carleton University, and the University of Ottawa, the textbook is targeted at early undergraduate learners in the social sciences.
Showing Theory to Know Theory brings nearly 70 “vignettes”—short pedagogical texts that illustrate complex theoretical terms and disciplinary jargon from the critical social sciences. Each entry “shows” an element of theory using a short, evocative story, visual or infographic, poem, described photograph, or other audio-visual material. Rather than simplifying concepts, these vignettes offer teachers and learners a point of entry into scholarly discourse in an accessible and enjoyable format.
Terms range from abjection to tacit knowledge, postfeminism to mediatization, racial fragility to emergence. Each vignette opens with a single-sentence explanation of the term; accompanying pedagogical material—including discussion questions, exercises, and additional resources—enable educators to build on the illustration to engage students in exploring the concept in greater depth. A Zotero-based plugin enables users to filter vignettes by theme, and the entire text of the book is searchable by keyword.
Published on the Pressbooks digital publishing platform, Showing Theory is available to learners and teachers as a free e-book. A web-based HTML version is optimized for accessibility; EPUB and PDF formats are also available for download. A print-on-demand version may be purchased at cost by contacting the publishers. The book is published under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.
Development and production of the textbook was funded in part by eCampusOntario’s Virtual Learning Strategy, under a $50 million program to make digital, openly accessible learning material available through the organization’s catalogue. The book is also hosted by several digital repositories, including MERLOT and the OER Commons, and may be accessed directly via a dedicated website at showingtheory.net.
For additional information, contact:
Patricia Ballamingie, patricia.ballamingie@carleton.ca
David Szanto, dszanto@uottawa.ca