Understanding Interdisciplinary Challenges and Opportunities in Higher Education

Interdisciplinary teaching, learning, and research are often heralded as necessary responses to the many pressures facing contemporary higher education. Defined as the integration of knowledge from two or more disciplines, interdisciplinary work requires a change in the boundaries and norms that have long defined the academy. Through examples from a range of disciplines and institutional types, this volume considers how successful interdisciplinary engagement necessitates a focus on the structure and rewards of academic behavior. This change is an intensely social process, involving dialogue and interation among diverse ideas, individuals, learning environments, and bodies of knowledge. It is this diversity that enables the rich potential of interdisciplinary engagement but also presents the greatest challenges for institutions. This volume considers the obstacles and opportunities inherent in interdisciplinary initiatives.