I have a long-standing interest in interdisciplinarity and how it is practiced in thought (conceptual models) and action (fitness costs and benefits).

Here is a article from Inside Higher Ed that examines the paradox of interdisciplinary ways of working and the promotion criteria that accompany them. The article’s authors, Diana Rhoten and Stephanie Pfirman, describe how universities are promoting interdisciplinary ways of working to attracts women to science and engineering careers. Consider the University of Michigan’s recent decision to hire more than 100 new interdisciplinary faculty as evidence. The authors describe four models of interdisciplinarity: cross-fertilization, team-collaboration, field creation, and problem orientation. While each of these contributes significantly to innovative ideas and processes, they also come with significant pitfalls, difficulties, and constraints. This is why the authors highlight the extreme disconnect between promotion guidelines and interdisciplinary models. Much of their work centers on science and engineering, but the same conclusions can largely be applied to the arts and design fields as well. Read the full article here…