Abstract
Identity as a subject for analysis and discussion, and as a lived reality for all of us, has never been more complex and multi-faceted. Uneven though they are, technological advances and globalization change the ways people understand their identities. Under these conditions, our identity escapes from disciplinary bounds to a place where the sophistication and complexity of its existence have to be matched by openness, analyses, and reflections that also transcend disciplinary categorization. This book attempts analyses of this kind, and its structure is designed to be sympathetic to this aspiration in that it moves from disciplinarity through multidisciplinarity to transdisciplinarity and extradisciplinarity.
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Notes
- 1.
The module is one of a number of similar interdisciplinary “modules”, as they are called at Warwick, or “units”, as they are called at Monash, hosted jointly by the institutions. The terms “unit” and “module” will be synonymous and interchangeable in the remainder of this volume. A different disciplinary specialist was present each week, as well as a facilitator from each university at either end of the link. Completing the picture were individuals from Information Technology Services who also became part of the process. For more details on the practicalities of the teaching and learning experience for students and staff at the two universities, see Monk et al. (2015).
- 2.
Autoethnography is an expression of the desire to turn social science inquiry into a non-alienating practice, one in which I (as a researcher) do not need to suppress my own subjectivity , where I can become more attuned to the subjectivities of others, where I am free to reflect on the consequences of my work, not only for others but also for myself, and where all parts of myself—emotional, spiritual, intellectual, embodied and moral—can be voiced and integrated into my work … It’s a response to an existential crisis—a desire to do meaningful work and lead a meaningful life. (Bochner 2013, 53)
- 3.
There are many definitions of theories of interdisciplinarity, a small number of which would be sufficient to fill this book if they were analyzed in detail. Our selection is necessarily selective and, therefore, focused on ideas that seem most relevant to our own experience. As our work emerges from a pedagogic space in higher education , we would refer the interested reader to the Higher Education Academy’s report on interdisciplinary provision in higher education for further reading and information (Lyall et al. 2015).
- 4.
It is worth recording these learning outcomes here to show where our thinking was before the module began. Students were invited, with us, to:
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Encounter abstract and complex ideas from a range of disciplines (multidisciplinary), and to synthesize these into thoughtful intellectual responses (interdisciplinary), that lead students to insights that may lie beyond the scope of a single discipline (transdisciplinary).
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Understand the symbiotic potential of traditionally distinct disciplines.
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Participate in “active” learning in order to foster the notion that participation and experiential learning permit a deeper understanding of complex multi-faceted material.
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Enhance and consolidate their academic and research abilities in a collaborative environment, engaging with methodologies and “languages” across the disciplines.
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Make productive links between theoretical ideas and practical applications.
The module’s aims were to offer honors level undergraduates a rich and pluralistic appreciation of “identity” that would be relevant throughout their personal and professional lives and to ask that they respond to notions of identity that are framed as problematic and incompatible, or where such ideas exist in conflicted constellation in the purviews of different and differing disciplines. The module sought, therefore, to encourage students to:
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Investigate in detail the means by which identities are formed, changed, or imposed—as seen through the lenses of different disciplines.
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Understand notions such as the nature of individual identity broadly, national identity , bodily identity, gender identity, racial identity , and spiritual identity.
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Reflect both upon the increasing prominence of consumer, hybrid, border, and marginal identities and upon the notion that identity can shift, that it can be fragmented, and that a variety of identities can exist simultaneously.
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Develop an awareness of how their subject knowledge and disciplinary approach can be made accessible to wider publics.
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Explore the relationship between the mind and body in the formation of identity.
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1.
References
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Monk, N., Lindgren, M., McDonald, S., Pasfield-Neofitou, S. (2017). Introduction. In: Monk, N., Lindgren, M., McDonald, S., Pasfield-Neofitou, S. (eds) Reconstructing Identity. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58427-0_1
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