Basically, I think a good way to encourage members of the site to read more political theory would be to put some kind of marker on their profile or next to their name that shows how much and what kinds of political theory they have read. I also hope this would have the secondary effect of allowing lurkers who see disagreements to get a better feel of which side has a stronger basis for their position.

Maybe something simple like marking which accounts participate in the weekly reading series, and make it a riff on challenge coins or something.

Edit: I should specify that it would be awarded to people that are participating in discussion groups and such as a way to signify who is involved in the education side of the community.

Edit 2: Fuck It, I have been convinced that this is a bad idea. Instead how about a weekly what are you reading thread?

    • TheGreenOx [he/him]
      ·
      3 years ago

      I think "book worship" is a term that gets overused. It is best applied where people are dogmatic and do not allow room for theorists to be mistaken or out dated. It seems like it is often applied in situations where anybody reaches outside of direct personal experience. Theory gives us words and systems to understand our experiences and we should encourage everyone to learn as much as they reasonably can.

      Now will this idea generate book worship in the dogmatic sense? Maybe, but I think it is possible to avoid with some slight modifications.