Interdisciplinarity

Julie T. Klein notes that “boundaries shift and overlap because ideas and techniques do not exist in fixed places” on pg.8 of the Interdisciplinarity reading. This reading was helpful; I now visualize interdisciplinary science as multiple spheres of data, ideas, knowledge and resources overlapping one another so that the middle sections (or shared spaces) form a new, fresh “whole”. (In my mind, traditional models appear as sturdy, separate boxes containing each field). Both have advantages and disadvantages, but I believe interdisciplinarity is a valuable approach in the Amsterdam seminar- not only because multiple perspectives and expertise add to the learning experience, but because it will generate new (and hopefully exciting) ideas in the process of the research. I think the challenge is, like Klein mentions, to continue this process; to continue generating and incorporating interdisciplinary methods throughout the process, even if this just means retaining “common interests and problems” etc. One question I have is- do we naturally use interdisciplinary approaches to solve problems, even if we don’t call it interdisciplinarity? Are there examples of situations we can think of where interdisciplinarity (oh, I love typing that!) has failed? Are there certain areas or disciplines in which it is more successful? I’m looking forward to understanding this concept on a deeper level throughout this course.