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Interdisciplinary Thought Thinking big, thinking small, or not thinking at all

Interdisciplinary Thought Thinking big, thinking small, or not thinking at all. Monty Hempel Center for Environmental Studies University of Redlands. or. Techies, Talkies, Tweenies, and Transies. Disciplinary Boundaries. Deans and Department Chairs .

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Interdisciplinary Thought Thinking big, thinking small, or not thinking at all

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  1. Interdisciplinary ThoughtThinking big, thinking small, ornot thinking at all Monty Hempel Center for Environmental Studies University of Redlands

  2. or Techies, Talkies, Tweenies, and Transies

  3. Disciplinary Boundaries

  4. Deans and Department Chairs “People have problems and universities have departments, and that’s the problem.” --Russ Mawby, President Kellogg Foundation Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

  5. Current Educational Structure http://www.wikipedia.org/

  6. Micro-Specialization Increasing Disciplinary Environmental Studies/Science Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Higher Education

  7. DisciplinarityComparative Advantage Specialized knowledge leads to most productive use of factors and generates the greatest wealth; therefore the greatest social good. Adam Smith 1723-1790 David Ricardo 1772-1823

  8. The fragmentation of knowledge and resulting chaos are not reflections of the real world, but are artifacts of scholarship -- E.O.Wilson

  9. The Interdisciplinary Mission: Making sense out of a fragmented world Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

  10. One response: Focus on Human-influenced EcosystemsUnderstand interactions between complex environmental systems and even more complex human social systems Understanding interacting systems at multiple scales of space and time.

  11. Elephant in the Wild

  12. Elephant in the University

  13. The Six Blind Men of Indostan(The Blind Men and the Elephant) American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) Reductionist Method: breaking things into smaller and smaller pieces until each piece can be accurately analyzed.

  14. The Benefits of Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

  15. How Interdisciplinary Programs Are Viewed in Most Universities?

  16. Cross-Disciplinary Evolution multidisciplinary - researchers in separate disciplines work independently within their own disciplinary perspective, to address a common problem interdisciplinary - researchers work jointly, but from each of their respective disciplinary perspectives, to address a common problem transdisciplinary - researchers work jointly using a shared conceptual framework that draws together discipline-specific theories, concepts, and approaches, to address a common problem Firm boundaries (Rosenfield, 1992) Permeable boundaries No or blurred boundaries Source: Dan Stokols, 2004

  17. Disciplinarity • inter-prefix. [Lat. < inter] between, among, withintrans-prefix [ Lat. < trans] across, beyond, through

  18. Interdisciplinary Starts with disciplines and looks for lines of interest that connect them. • Transdisciplinary Starts with complex problems and looks for new conceptualizations that transform understanding of theory and practice.

  19. Arguments for Transdisciplinarity • The problems we face transcend the disciplinary knowledge we practice. • Universities should be communities of scholars – incubators and testing laboratories of ideas – not confederations of turfdoms. • It’s not either/or! We need disciplinary, interdisciplinary, AND transdisciplinary programs in Higher Education.

  20. A Cautionary Tale:The Interdisciplinary Program Builder The captain of the javelin team who won the “toss” and elected to receive.

  21. Barriers to Transdisciplinary “Courtships” • Depth over Breadth Promotion & Tenure • Faculty Recruitment Need for a Core • Curricular Incoherence Certification Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

  22. Advantages of Transdisciplinary Collaboration Greater Explanatory Power Increased Capacity for Synthesis (not just analysis) Better Integration of Science, Management, and Policy Methodological Pluralism Promotes Coupling of Models Builds Foresight Capacity

  23. Disadvantages of Transdisciplinary Collaboration Labor Intensive – Educationally Demanding Cooperation Hard to Sustain (turfdoms) Administratively Complex Breadth vs. Depth Tradeoffs Diffuse vs. Focused Conceptual Models Few Professional Incentives (tenure hurdles, less rewards for team contributions) Weak or Negative Incentive Structures!

  24. NEEDED:A Science of Integration

  25. Science Economics Politics Ethics Env. Context History, Literature, Psychology, Geog., Sociology, etc. Policy Management

  26. The Redlands ApproachCenter for Environmental Studies Facilitating Interdisciplinary Work • Tenure-Track Faculty lines in Natural Science, Social Science, and Humanities • Conceptual Framework: Sustainability (Ecol/Econ/Equity) • Tools of Integration: GIS – spatial literacy • Heuristics: Ecological Footprint Analysis • Team Research: Design Studios & Policy Clinics • Experiential Learning: “Glocal” Program (community service learning plus travel courses and study abroad) • Setting Examples on Campus: Green Buildings/Design

  27. Buildings that Teach Lewis Hall Center for Environmental Studies

  28. Disaster Preparedness

  29. Teaching is the art of assisting discovery Mark van Doren

  30. Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Serving the Campus Sustainability Community Photo and design credit: Mithun Architects+Designers+Planners

  31. Mission: • Promote sustainability in all sectors of higher education - from governance and operations to curriculum and research – through education, research, dialogue and action. • Vision: campuses modeling sustainability in all learning, operations, and outreach Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education

  32. About AASHE • Higher education association, serving U.S. and Canada. • Membership-based, member-driven • Serves all sectors of higher education • Professional home for sustainability coordinators • Goal - umbrella organization for campus sustainability community Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education

  33. Resource Center • Sustainability policy bank and assessment tools • Specialized resources for academics, operations staff, sustainability professionals • Publications (articles, reports, fact sheets, news, books) • Directories • Speakers Bureau Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education

  34. Professional Development and Networking • Conference (Oct 4-7, 2006, ASU) • Workshops & trainings • Interest groups, discussion lists, conference calls, web seminars, other networking opportunities • Task forces – energy, curriculum • Professional home for sustainability coordinators, practitioners Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education

  35. Military Budgets FY 2006*

  36. Equity -- 2006 • The wealth of the world’s 3 richest people is more than the combined income of the world’s 550 million poorest. • Over 800 million people do not get enough to eat every day. • There have been 26 international conferences on poverty and hunger in the past 30 years.

  37. Describing the Unknown Chimaera Pup

  38. Future Directions

  39. The Home Computer of 2004! Popular Mechanics, 1954 (Hoax!)

  40. Means • Guiding concepts: Resilience and Sustainability (study both uses and limitations) • Core faculty that includes natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities • Core courses that combine science, policy and management • Design Studios and Policy Clinics • Buildings as “adjunct faculty members” • Integrative Technologies (e.g., GIS)

  41. Core Courses (all degree tracks) EVST 100–Introduction to Environmental Studies EVST 102 –Environmental Geography - Ecological Literacy PHIL/REL –Environmental Ethics(REL 122 or PHIL 330) EVST 110– Introduction to Spatial Analysis & GIS EVST 250–Environmental Design Studio I EVST 300–Environmental Colloquium(Econ/Policy/Mgmt/Sci.) EVST 475–Capstone Senior Project(minimum of 6 units) EVST (1) – Practicum(Choose one): Environmental Study Abroad, Biosphere 2 Semester, EVST 330, 350, 385, 485, or approved Travel Course

  42. Resilience • Resilience for engineers: “the rate at which a system returns to a single steady or cyclic state following a perturbation.” • Resilience for ecologists: “the amount of change or disruption that is required to transform a system from being maintained by one set of mutually reinforcing processes and structures to a different set of processes and structures.” --The Resilience Alliance

  43. Ecological Resilience • focused on persistence, adaptiveness, variability and unpredictability • measured by the magnitude of disturbance that can be absorbed before the system changes its structure by changing the variables and processes that control behavior --The Resilience Alliance

  44. Reductionist Monodisciplinary Single target/objectives Expert interventions Separates science from management Decisions based on burden of proof Hierarchy/rule-based, one path to “Truth” Predict and Explain Holistic Inter- and transdisciplinary Synthesis of multi-objectives Humility about intervening Treats management as an experiment Decisions based on precautionary principle Networking/collaborative, adaptive/flexible Envision and understand Approaches to theScience of Sustainability Traditional Science Integrative Science

  45. Discovering patterns within patterns GIS GIS is a “macroscope” for studying the Earth. --Jack Dangermond Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

  46. Discovering patterns within patterns Linking points lines and polygons Area Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

  47. What is a GIS? • An integrative technology that uses • a computer based mapping and information • retrieval system for assembling, storing, • manipulating, and displaying geographically • referenced information, i.e. data identified • according to their locations. • A set of convergent tools for • “drilling” into complex systems • and revealing an organized set • of thematic layers all linked by • geography ESRI, Inc. Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

  48. Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

  49. The Confluence of “Streams” Carrying GIS • Increasing rate and magnitude of change; increasing scale and • complexity of interactions • Realization that most data has a spatial component • (location-based, “geo-referenced”) • Faster, more powerful, and cheaper computers (and resulting • flood of digital data and “Infoglut”) • The internet! • Shift in emphasis from thinking about data to thinking about • relationships; from micro-analysis to synthesis • Foresight and inventiveness of key researchers and • entrepreneurs (e.g., Roger Tomlinson and Jack Dangermond) Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

  50. Human Disturbance of Terrestrial Ecosystems Monty Hempel, University of Redlands

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