Commissioned Book Review: Jan Lüdert, Signature Pedagogies in International Education
| Author | Gabriel Honrada |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211064457 |
| Published date | 01 August 2022 |
| Date | 01 August 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Commissioned Book Review |
Political Studies Review
2022, Vol. 20(3) NP1 –NP2
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
Commissioned Book Review
1064457PSW0010.1177/14789299211064457Political Studies ReviewCommissioned Book Review
book-review2021
Commissioned Book Review
Signature Pedagogies in International
Education by Jan Lüdert (ed). Bristol:
E-International Relations Publishing, 2021. 210
pp., Free (Online), ISBN 978-1-910814-58-1.
Signature Pedagogies in International Relations
(2021) by E-International Publishing is a collec-
tion of essays written by International Relations
(IR) educators. The contributors employed L.S.
Shurman’s Signature Pedagogies concept in
framing their approaches in teaching IR, and to
examine present issues and challenges in the
subject. As a result, it expounds not only the
pedagogies of the contributors, but also the
applicability of the framework itself.
A liberal approach is consistent throughout
the book. Each of the contributors has different
pedagogies, but they all have a common goal
– to unmask prejudice and secure justice in the
international system. It portrays IR educators
as ‘intellectual gadflies’ performing a social
responsibility in educating future IR special-
ists. While all pedagogies discussed imply in
varying degrees that educators should be
thought-provoking in their approaches to
achieve that social purpose, each pedagogy has
its different methods in doing so. These include
active learning, critical and reflective philoso-
phising, letter writing, travel clusters, games,
and simulations. Notably, the book’s articles
are organised starting with those that empha-
sise didactic pedagogy, gradually shifting to
those that have a more experiential approach,
allowing the reader to see the interplay of these
approaches in the articles discussing simula-
tions as a signature pedagogy.
A common idea running through the book’s
pedagogical surface structures is having the stu-
dents take the lead in learning through self-real-
isation, with educators as facilitators. The main
task of educators is to create an atmosphere
conducive to free thought about IR theory and
issues, inducing students to reflect using a vari-
ety of approaches. Most of these approaches to
establishing a conducive atmosphere for IR
learning involve deconstructing existing cogni-
tive shortcuts and pre-existing prejudices hin-
dering critical thought and realisation. IR
educators are encouraged to show flexibility
and adeptness in using different pedagogical
tools to make IR lessons timely, relatable, rele-
vant and engaging. While the surface pedago-
gies in the book state the importance of having
students understand fundamental IR concepts,
theories and issues, greater emphasis is given
on imparting life skills such as decision-mak-
ing, empathy and professionalism to prepare
students for future IR careers.
The deep structures in the book focus on an
ethical, civic and humanistic approach to IR edu-
cation. The book is critical about the traditional
authority-based approach to teaching IR which
relieves heavily on a ‘banking model’ of educa-
tion. While an authoritative approach is neces-
sary in professional settings, in a pedagogical
context such can seem detached from human
experience at the emotional, cognitive and prac-
tical levels. As such, the book emphasises expe-
riential learning as the primary deep structure in
approaching IR education. Experiential learning
is integrated in the different deep structures dis-
cussed, with the contributors showing how it can
help students have a sense of ownership towards
the learning process. This could stem from the
personal satisfaction gained from creating new
knowledge from existing IR discourse, a sense of
growth emanating from continuously improving
skill sets, or a sense of uniqueness from class-
room or outside learning experiences students
can call their own.
The book strongly emphasises imparting
values and morals as a main objective of IR
education. This emphasis is since most of the
pressing issues IR issues today can be under-
stood in the most fundamental philosophical
questions of ethics. A call to global citizenship,
underpinned by humanism, and driven by the
desire to serve guided by professional ethos is a
strong and consistent feature throughout the
book. It builds on that premise by humanising
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