"As a content specialist in my discipline, philosophy,
an interest in reading comes naturally. Although I don’t
always have the time to do so, I know that every time
I immerse myself in a piece of reading—whether philosophical,
scientific or literary—it gives me pleasure
and nourishes me intellectually. In philosophy faculties,
books are highly valued. It’s part of our disciplinary
culture. Our students are no exception to this praise of
books; all but a few believe that reading is essential. And
yet, many don’t read unless they have to, especially in
school. That’s why I think it’s essential to make an effort
to inspire and encourage my students’ engagement to
reading, particularly in philosophy, which through its
great works offers unique opportunities to think for
oneself about fundamental issues. But how can we make
them more engaged and autonomous in their required
reading of the works? How can we strike a balance
between guiding them and developing their autonomy?
These are the questions that have guided my teaching
practice over the past decade.
This article is intended to give an account of the
culmination of experiments in this direction in my
classes. I present a sequence of teaching and pedagogical
activities that seem to me to respond to the observations
I’ve made over the last few years." -- AQPC
