Revisiting electromagnetic theory

This paper is addressed primarily to teachers of electromagnetic theory and their graduate students. It poses the question, "If we could start from scratch, are there changes we could make in the development of the theory that would simplify and/or clarify the exposition?" In what follows, a case is made that the answer to this question is "yes." However, the intent is not to urge anyone to change how he/she teaches electromagnetic theory. Instead, the intent is to convey the hope that those who are reasonably well-versed in the theory might also wish to be aware of its unintended obfuscations. In this presentation, one can perceive that every equation has its dual. This is particularly helpful to students when they reach the analogous treatments of dielectric and magnetic materials and discover the common, natural way to define the dielectric and magnetic constants.