Concepts of Interdisciplinarity: Configurations of Knowledge and Action

Twelve faculty directors of graduate liberal studies programs primarily in the US were interviewed by recorded telephone conversation in an effort to understand how they define interdisciplinarity, the intellectual aims to which they aspire, and their views about the nature of reality in knowledge development. Classification of their comments reinforces other writers’ observations that scholars differ in the degree to which knowledge integration defines interdisciplinarity and they differ in the degree to which they believe interdisciplinary knowledge is endogenous or exogenous to the university. Based on their views of knowledge integration and the social relevance of knowledge, four types of interdisciplinary scholars are hypothesized. Of additional interest are the perceived functions of interdisciplinary work and the way that these scholars by-pass philosophical debates about the nature of reality in favor of their practices of scholarship. Implications for the nature, meaning, and practice of interdisciplinarity are discussed.