We are living through a very difficult moment in human history where we are having to make almost daily decisions about our health, occupations, environment, economics, and democracy, while being bombarded with disinformation, misinformation, and "alternative facts" relative to those decisions. A highly developed information literacy…

This article examines the main ideas presented in Newell's groundbreaking article, published in "Issues in Integrative Studies" in 2001, "A Theory of Interdisciplinary Studies": that complexity is a precondition for interdisciplinary research, that interdisciplinary research utilizes disciplinary perspectives, and that…

Complexity is among the main drivers that justify and guide the genesis and establishment of multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary approaches to the production and application of knowledge. Complexity can be read in the relatively canonical taxonomy of these concepts that structure epistemological reflections on the dynamics of knowledge production…

The literature on interdisciplinary teaching has tended to stress undergraduate teaching. As interdisciplinary graduate teaching becomes increasingly common, we need to reflect on what graduate students need to know. This article discusses key ideas that all interdisciplinary graduate programs should communicate. In particular, we need to teach…

This article places William Newell's work on interdisciplinary studies (IDS) within the larger landscape of definitions, theories, and practices of interdisciplinarity. It begins by benchmarking three of his major contributions to the field of interdisciplinary studies read in the context of expanding literature on related topics: specifically his…

Disciplines are by their very "origin and nature" unstable--always already differed and deferred from themselves--due to their genetic relation to what Jacques Derrida calls "différance". In a sense, "différance" is what makes disciplines possible in the first place, and it can be thought of as the economy or mode of…

An extensional definition of interdisciplinarity--that is, a definition that identifies the types of practices that are interdisciplinary--is explained, advocated, and developed. The criteria for identifying appropriate interdisciplinary practices are outlined. Such a definition is useful both for interdisciplinary teachers and researchers who…

Scholars trained and credentialed in disciplines have a vast array of response options when challenged to engage with others from other disciplinary backgrounds. By considering the ways in which disciplines are like cultures and putting acculturation theory squarely into the domain of interdisciplinary studies, this article takes a new look at…