Undisciplining Knowledge

Interdisciplinarity in the Twentieth Century

Harvey J. Graff

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781421417462
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Higher Education

The first critical history of interdisciplinary efforts and movements in the modern university.

Interdisciplinarity—or the interrelationships among distinct fields, disciplines, or branches of knowledge in pursuit of new answers to pressing problems—is one of the most contested topics in higher education today. Some see it as a way to break down the silos of academic departments and foster creative interchange, while others view it as a destructive force that will diminish academic quality and destroy the university as we know it. In Undisciplining Knowledge, acclaimed scholar Harvey J. Graff presents readers with the first comparative and critical history of interdisciplinary initiatives in the modern university. Arranged chronologically, the book tells the engaging story of how various academic fields both embraced and fought off efforts to share knowledge with other scholars. It is a story of myths, exaggerations, and misunderstandings, on all sides.

Touching on a wide variety of disciplines—including genetic biology, sociology, the humanities, communications, social relations, operations research, cognitive science, materials science, nanotechnology, cultural studies, literacy studies, and biosciences—the book examines the ideals, theories, and practices of interdisciplinarity through comparative case studies. Graff interweaves this narrative with a social, institutional, and intellectual history of interdisciplinary efforts over the 140 years of the modern university, focusing on both its implementation and evolution while exploring substantial differences in definitions, goals, institutional locations, and modes of organization across different areas of focus.

Scholars across the disciplines, specialists in higher education, administrators, and interested readers will find the book's multiple perspectives and practical advice on building and operating—and avoiding fallacies and errors—in interdisciplinary research and education invaluable.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Contents
• List of Tables and Figures
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: The Problem of Interdisciplinarity in Theory and Practice over Time
• 1. Sciences of Life and Society in the Making of the Research University: Genetic Biology and Sociology, 1890s–1920s
• 2. Crossing and Remaking Boundaries: The Humanities and Communication, 1870s–1960s
• 3. In Search of Unification for War and Peace: Social Relations and Operations Research, 1930s–1960s
• 4. Between Mind and Mentality: Cognitive Science and New Histories, 1940s–1980s
• 5. A Material World and the Making of Lifeworlds: Materials Science and Cultural Studies, 1950s–1990s
• 6. The Past and Future of Interdisciplinarity: Bioscience and Literacy Studies
• Notes
• Select Bibliography
• Index