Zhang Hui: Promoting the Positive Interaction Between the Development of Marxist Theory Disciplines and the Construction of Ideological and Political Courses

Professor Zhang Hui, Dean of the School of Marxism at China Agricultural University, points out that one of the primary original aspirations in establishing Marxism as a first-level discipline ^[1] was to strengthen the support for the teaching of ideological and political courses. This aim is intended both to improve the comprehensive quality of ideological and political course teachers and to inject higher academic content into these courses, thereby giving the teaching content greater theoretical depth and persuasiveness. The core relationship between the two lies in the effective empowerment of teaching through discipline building: discipline building serves as the essential foundation for the high-quality implementation of ideological and political teaching, while ideological and political teaching acts as the key vehicle for the practical realization of the discipline's value. To properly handle this relationship, the key lies in promoting their deep integration. Ideological and political teachers must establish a sense of responsibility defined by "one person, two missions" ^[2]; they must both cultivate the field of discipline building—conducting pedagogical research within the macro-perspective of the discipline’s development—and ground themselves in teaching practice to feed back into discipline building. Through the synergistic efforts of teaching and scientific research, solid disciplinary research provides the theoretical support for teaching, while high-quality teaching practice tests the effectiveness of discipline building. Ultimately, this enhances the targeted nature and effectiveness of ideological and political courses, achieving a bidirectional promotion and collaborative development between the discipline of Marxist theory and the teaching of ideological and political courses.