Encouraging reading engagement and dialogue in economics: insights from using Perusall in a gender, race, and class course

This paper serves a twofold purpose: first, to introduce Perusall as a collaborative learning platform to economics instructors, and second, to document its effectiveness in facilitating discussions on sensitive topics in an economics of gender, race, and class course. Perusall, an interactive e-book reader with social annotation tools, was integrated into the course to promote student engagement and foster meaningful discourse on complex social and economic issues. To assess its impact, quantitative data from student survey responses were analysed using descriptive statistics to identify trends in perceptions and engagement. The findings suggest that Perusall is an effective tool for enabling discussions on challenging topics related to gender, race, and class, providing a structured yet flexible environment that encourages student participation. This study highlights the potential of Perusall to enhance classroom discussions in economics courses, particularly when addressing issues that may be difficult to navigate in traditional face-to-face settings.