ABSTRACT
Economists of many stripes are dissatisfied with the usual content and pedagogy of principles courses. Many traditional economists complain about the cut-anddried, uninspiring, outdated, and/or increasingly one-sided neoliberal approach characteristic of much introductory teaching. Developments in game theory and behavioral economics, as well as policy controversies, are neglected in most introductory textbooks. Economists more skeptical about the value of traditional economics are of course are even more frustrated. Institutional, radical, feminist, ecological, socio-economic, Austrian, post-Keynesian, green, and critical realist economists, as well as instructors who want to draw from a number of schools and/or interdisciplinary insights, find the standard curriculum stifling. Whatever extension and/or alternative to traditional economics an instructor favors, at best most standard textbooks mention it in an easily skipped feature box or footnote, if at all. This chapter critically examines challenges faced by the instructor in teaching a principles course that embraces alternative approaches, as well as possible responses to these challenges. The chapter concludes with a guide to materials including textbooks of an alternative or hybrid nature, materials that can be used to supplement a standard textbook, and background readings for instructor use.
