Practising Interdisciplinarity: Convergences and Contestations

This book examines the epistemological, social and political dimensions of practising interdisciplinary approaches to enhance knowledge, pedagogy, and methodological aspects of research in the South Asian context. The volume sets the context by bringing together a range of ideas, questions and reflections on the concept of interdisciplinarity, the numerous waves of interdisciplinarity in contemporary history of knowledge, which were radically different from each other in their epistemological and political orientations. The book revisits the concept of interdisciplinarity and takes into cognizance the importance of the mutual shaping of knowledge and politics in our search for inclusive and sustainable future(s).

The book offers a blend of both conceptual and institutional discourses on interdisciplinarity and the personal experiences of leading practitioners, bringing together critical engagements from different vantage points on practising it. It will be of interest to researchers, scholars and practitioners of social sciences and humanities disciplines as well as interdisciplinary fields such as educational studies, development studies, women’s studies, media studies, cultural studies, urban studies, labour studies, legal studies, public health, disability studies, global/international studies and performing arts. It will also be useful for policy planners, development practitioners, activists and social organizers working in related fields.

Babu P. Remesh is currently Professor, School of Development Studies; Dean (Research & Development) and Director, Centre for Research Methods at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD). Earlier he worked as Associate Fellow/Fellow at V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, NOIDA; and as Associate Professor and Director, School of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi.

Ratheesh Kumar currently works as Associate Professor at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He has previously taught at the Department of Anthropology, University of Hyderabad and at the School of Interdisciplinary and Trans-disciplinary Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi. He was a Charles Wallace India Trust Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Research in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), University of Cambridge (2021–2022).