ABSTRACT
I am interested here in the psychological component of building a political turn. More specifically, I seek to actualize the latent political energies of students who already identify as holding progressive values but who, because of various psychological hindrances, do not see themselves as political actors. In thinking through how progressive compositionists can advance this goal, I propose redirecting the libertarian concept of nudging toward progressive ends. Whether we recognize it or not, teachers are “choice architects” who, in establishing the contexts whereby students make various decisions, nudge students toward particular decisions and away from others. Accordingly, students might at times be serendipitously nudged toward political engagement. However, I argue that progressive educators might have more success helping students negotiate the psychological barriers to political engagement by developing, testing, and refining pedagogies of conscientious nudging.
