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On Friday 23 May, the (HHP) will organise a symposium offering a kaleidoscopic perspective on cross-disciplinarity. The event will include general introductions to various cross-disciplinary fields by Utrecht University staff and guest speakers. It will explore several approaches, from the integration or assimilation of disciplines into neo-disciplines, to more informal encounters and dialogues that can be just as promising.

Multi-, inter- and transdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinarity is the academic mantra of our time: the future of research and university teaching lies under its spell. There is an abundance of theoretical literature on the new trends of interdisciplinarity, yet a comparative evaluation of the praxis of cooperation from humanities disciplines with disciplines outside the humanities is missing.

New fields like Medical Humanities and Environmental Humanities have emerged, but it is open to question what they have in common ­­with each other, or with more open and flexible forms of encounters beyond the humanities and even outside academia. Multidisciplinarity is sometimes used as a lesser version of the interdisciplinary holy grail of integration (the path towards neo-disciplines). This dogmatic view needs to be corrected, as multi-, inter- and transdisciplinarity have intrinsic value.

During the symposium, HHP-students will present case studies from the recent course ‘Humanities in Context’. A panel discussion led by Iris van der Tuin, Utrecht University Dean of Interdisciplinary Education, will conclude the symposium.