Through the Many Lenses of Interdisciplinarity
Sunday, April 09, 2006
bIn my senior year of high school, I was in the Justice and Ethics Seminar, an academic grouping that consisted of my History, Religion, and English classes. Looking at these concepts from the three perspectives, I thought that I had a good handle on the concept of interdisciplinarity. However, after my reading of “Definitions of Interdisciplinarity,” I believe that I was a participant in a multidisciplinary program of study, rather than one of interdisciplinarity. Rather than creating a synthesis of the three subjects in one classroom in an atmosphere of interdisciplinarity, we were looking at the subject from three different angles and not truly linking our studies.
bIn today’s world, however, it seems that this disciplinarity is still a necessary element of school studies. While it is not necessarily the most efficient or fulfilling manner in which to study, it is still the way in which the job market assesses student candidates. While this may be a vast generalization, employers look to the degree of specialization in one’s resume, developed through one’s course of study, internships, and volunteer projects. Furthermore, along with this specialization comes a deeper level of knowledge on the subject. Perhaps, some might worry that through interdisciplinarity, one would have knowledge of more subjects, but that this knowledge might fall short of a true, strong understanding of the issues. While today’s education system is marked by a strong sense of disciplinarity, I see small hints of interdisciplinarity beginning to show. Through the general honors requirements that we each must fulfill, or the general education requirements of the University, the University of Washington is attempting to increase the scope of a student’s knowledge and understanding. In this way, then, it seems that the educational system is acknowledging the value of an interdisciplinary course of studies.
bHow will I, along with my group members, incorporate interdisciplinarity into our project?
bHow can I research in such a way to achieve interdisciplinarity, without sacrificing any depth of knowledge on the subject?
bIn today’s world, however, it seems that this disciplinarity is still a necessary element of school studies. While it is not necessarily the most efficient or fulfilling manner in which to study, it is still the way in which the job market assesses student candidates. While this may be a vast generalization, employers look to the degree of specialization in one’s resume, developed through one’s course of study, internships, and volunteer projects. Furthermore, along with this specialization comes a deeper level of knowledge on the subject. Perhaps, some might worry that through interdisciplinarity, one would have knowledge of more subjects, but that this knowledge might fall short of a true, strong understanding of the issues. While today’s education system is marked by a strong sense of disciplinarity, I see small hints of interdisciplinarity beginning to show. Through the general honors requirements that we each must fulfill, or the general education requirements of the University, the University of Washington is attempting to increase the scope of a student’s knowledge and understanding. In this way, then, it seems that the educational system is acknowledging the value of an interdisciplinary course of studies.
bHow will I, along with my group members, incorporate interdisciplinarity into our project?
bHow can I research in such a way to achieve interdisciplinarity, without sacrificing any depth of knowledge on the subject?
posted by Erika at 6:39 PM
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