2. Chapter 1: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Real World
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

3. After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
Learning Outcomes
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of why interdisciplinary studies is considered basic to education, problem solving, professional practice, and innovation
Describe the “drivers” of interdisciplinary studies today
Identify and describe new and emerging interdisciplinary fields of study and their significance
Explain why systems thinking and contextual thinking are increasingly viewed as important.
Explain why a knowledge society needs both disciplinary specialization and interdisciplinary breadth.
Explain the academic benefits of pursuing an interdisciplinary studies degree.
Explain the relevance of interdisciplinary studies to your career development.
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

4. Why is interdisciplinary studies considered basic to education?
Consider the following video (4m 58sec):
Video obtained from YouTube -
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

5. Why is interdisciplinary studies considered basic to education?
The video asks what all these changes in the world mean to us as learners and teachers.
How do these changes affect the way we must teach and learn?
How has the workplace also changed over the last years?
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

6. Why is interdisciplinary studies considered basic to education?
We must be adaptive to change
We must be able to deal with ambiguity
We must be able to deal with massive amounts of information
We must be able to adapt to different work environments and skill requests
What others can you think of?
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

7. Why is interdisciplinary studies considered basic to education?
Interdisciplinary Studies develops skills and traits that help you to cope with such demands
It equips you to be responsive to change
It teaches you skills that are transferable beyond the classroom
Increasingly, interdisciplinarity is being recognized as a key instructional strategy to equip students for a changing world
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

8. What are the six drivers of interdisciplinarity?
the complexity of nature, society, and ourselves
the complexity of the globalized workplace
the need for systems thinking
the changing nature of university research
the public world and its pressing need
a knowledge society’s need for both disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

9. What are the six drivers of interdisciplinarity?
What is a “driver”?
A driver is an outside force, idea, or paradigm that exerts a change on how we do things
What are the drivers that have made interdisciplinarity such an attractive attribute in the workplace and in the classroom?
Think of what you have seen on the news lately.
How complex are the problems that face our world?
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

10. The complexity of nature, society, and ourselves
Images L to R – all from Creative Commons
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

11. The complexity of nature, society, and ourselves
When we think of a problem as complex as the war in Syria, for example, we cannot simply turn to the experts in one discipline
We need the insights from multiple disciplines to help us understand such a complex problem
What disciplines might be helpful to consider the conflict in Syria?
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

12. The complexity of nature, society, and ourselves
What disciplines might be helpful to consider the conflict in Syria?
History
Religious Studies
Economics
Political Science
Others?
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

13. The complexity of the globalized workplace
Think about the kind of workplace where your grandparents were employed, or your parents
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

14. The Complexity of the Globalized Workplace - 2
It’s unlikely that these jobs will even still be around
It’s even more unlikely that the kind of job, your colleagues, and the nature of the work will be the same as it has been for your predecessors
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

15. The Complexity of the Globalized Workplace - 3
Think about:
Changes in technology
Diversity in the workplace
New markets
Demands placed on workers in a dynamic economy
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

16. The Need for Systems Thinking and Contextual Thinking - 1
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

17. The Need for Systems Thinking and Contextual Thinking - 2
The world is full of complex systems:
The environment
The financial system
The movement of people in the world
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

18. The Need for Systems Thinking and Contextual Thinking - 3
The world is full of complex systems
These systems are made up of many interrelated parts
All of the parts are important to consider when examining the issue as whole
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

19. The Need for Systems Thinking and Contextual Thinking - 4
Think of something closer to your experience
The system used by your university to enroll you in classes
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

20. The Need for Systems Thinking and Contextual Thinking - 5
The system used by your university to enroll you in classes
Think of all the parts of that complex whole:
Class name
Faculty to teach the class
Room space
Number of Students
Credit hours awarded
Compensation for faculty
Grading system
Others?
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

21. The Need for Systems Thinking and Contextual Thinking - 6
The system used by your university to enroll you in classes
Think of all the parts of that complex whole:
Overlooking any element of this complex whole jeopardizes the possibility of understanding the whole
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

22. The Need for Systems Thinking and Contextual Thinking - 7
Interdisciplinarians also recognize the importance of examining complex problems in context
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

23. The Need for Systems Thinking and Contextual Thinking - 8
“Contextual thinking is the ability to view a subject from a broad perspective by placing it in the fabric of time, culture, or personal experience” (7)
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

24. The Need for Systems Thinking and Contextual Thinking - 9
Think of a complex problem
Consider Climate Change
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

25. The Need for Systems Thinking and Contextual Thinking - 10
Consider Climate Change
If you consider this complex problem only from the discipline of “Biology” for example (which is an important perspective)
You will miss historical perspective – how did we get here?
You will cultural perspective – why are some countries and cultures more adept at making changes to combat climate change than others?
You will miss personal experience – what are your own attitudes toward climate change, why do you have them, how will policy changes related to climate change affect you?
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

26. The Changing Nature of University Research - 1
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

27. The Changing Nature of University Research - 2
Interdisciplinary Research is being encouraged at the academy because:
Interdisciplinary research produces more creative results because it leverages the insights from different disciplinary departments, avoiding siloed thinking
Students who engage in interdisciplinary research are more employable because they have been exposed to ways of thinking from more than one academic department
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

28. The Changing Nature of University Research - 3
Breakthroughs in areas of health and the sciences for example, are happening because of the important overlap of ideas that occur between the disciplines
Biology
Chemistry
Psychology
Drug treatment for Schizophrenia?
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

29. The Public World and Its Pressing Needs - 1
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

30. The Public World and Its Pressing Needs - 2
More than ever, the public world demands answers from us
Many of the problems we face are complex because they have been caused by us over time
Some are complex philosophical questions. Because we can do something, should we?
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

31. A Knowledge Society Needs Both Disciplinarity and Interdisciplinarity
Just because you are interdisciplinary doesn’t mean you don’t need the disciplines
As instrumental interdisciplinarians, we believe that the disciplines are foundational to our work
As the knowledge within the disciplines grows, as interdisciplinarians, we must be able to draw this into our own understanding of complex problems
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

32. What are new and emerging interdisciplinary fields of study and how are they significant? - 1
Increasing numbers of interdisciplinary fields of study are emerging
Table on p. 12 of text
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

33. What are new and emerging interdisciplinary fields of study and how are they significant? - 2
These fields are significant because they recognize that fields of study that draw on more than one discipline are necessary to equip graduates for the knowledge they need in a rapidly changing world
Table on p. 12 of text
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

34. What are the academic benefits of pursuing an interdisciplinary studies degree?
As a graduate of an interdisciplinary program you will be able to:
deal with complexity
transfer skills from the classroom to the workplace
leverage insights from more than one discipline (employers like to be able to do more with less!)
deal with ambiguity and change
operate effectively in a rapidly changing and diverse workplace
understand yourself and how your own biases and expertise may affect your reaction to a complex problem
Table on p. 12 of text
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.

35. You should now be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of why interdisciplinary studies is considered basic to education, problem solving, professional practice, and innovation
Describe the “drivers” of interdisciplinary studies today
Identify and describe new and emerging interdisciplinary fields of study and their significance
Explain why systems thinking and contextual thinking are increasingly viewed as important.
Explain why a knowledge society needs both disciplinary specialization and interdisciplinary breadth.
Explain the academic benefits of pursuing an interdisciplinary studies degree.
Explain the relevance of interdisciplinary studies to your career development.
Repko, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Second Edition. SAGE Publishing, 2017.