Interdisciplinarity: Its Role in a Discipline-based Academy - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199331340 ISBN 13: 9780199331345

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2014

Synopsis

At the turn of the twentieth century, colleges and universities in the U.S. and elsewhere were convulsed with change, a change induced by the creation of the modern set of academic disciplines. Their emergence at that time fundamentally altered how universities were constructed and how they did their business. It is the model on which the academy of the twenty-first century operates. Very shortly after the creation of the disciplinary-based academy, pressures began to build, both in the academy and in the society that looked to the academy to help solve pressing social problems, to develop interdisciplinary approaches to address problems that fit poorly within the disciplinary structure. These external and internal forces never fully abated, and peaked after the Second World War. They have peaked again more recently, and the contemporary college and university is therefore a rich amalgam of disciplinary and interdisciplinary units, problems, approaches, and structures. Interdisciplinarity examines the contemporary academy by connecting its disciplinary-based structure with its burgeoning interdisciplinary focus. Part I looks at the value of the disciplinary structure in the contemporary university alongside the motivations that lead to calls for greater interdisciplinary approaches. Part 2 traces the development of external forces, particularly the private and public foundation, that shaped the development of interdisciplinary scholarship in the twentieth century. The final two sections examine in detail interdisciplinary education and the organization of university-based interdisciplinary research.

About this title

About the Author

John H. Aldrich is Pfizer-Pratt University Professor of Political Science, Duke University. He is past President of the Southern Political Science Association and of the Midwest Political Science Association and is currently serving as president of the American Political Science Association. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and held a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Review

"At a time when so much talk about higher education concerns the virtues and dangers of crossing disciplinary boundaries, it is splendid to have this thoughtful study by John Aldrich and his colleagues. The book offers an enlightened, non-partisan analysis that can help guide us on the way forward." --Richard Brodhead, President, Duke University

"A must read for any scholar or administrator seeking to advance interdisciplinarity in the modern research university. Individual scholars will find examples and advice about pursuing interdisciplinary research. Administrators will find this book useful in providing a conceptual and intellectual basis for pursuing interdisciplinarity, one that is nevertheless consistent with preserving the value of discipline-based inquiry. The book also describes the benefits and pitfalls of various institutional arrangements, such as interdisciplinary centers, for pursuing the value of interdisciplinarity." --Laurel Weldon, Professor of Political Science, Purdue University

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0199331340
• ISBN 13: 9780199331345
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320
• Editor: Aldrich John H.