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

Authors: Veronika Dolar; Victoria Kang

Addresses: Department of Economics, Pace University, USA ' Department of Economics, Pace University, USA

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: asynchronous learning; classroom inclusion; collaborative annotation; discussion-based learning; online learning tools; Perusall; economics education; pluralism; economics pedagogy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPEE.2026.152994

International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 2026 Vol.16 No.1, pp.110 - 129

Received: 24 Apr 2025
Accepted: 14 Oct 2025
Published online: 17 Apr 2026 *

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