ISD9: Humanities Across Disciplinary Borders

Collaborative Goals

This interdisciplinary Working Group brings together a diverse range of scholars, some squarely in the Humanities and others outside it, to explore strategies for building interdisciplinary collaboration. The collaborative goals of the Working Group include developing a deeper understanding of contemporary issues and their effects on humanity. We investigate how scholars and researchers at global universities can research these issues and be at the forefront of understanding and interpreting such transformations across the humanities and across disciplinary borders. Additionally, we plan to share ideas on how we can inform students, policymakers, and the public. A goal of the Working Group is for our work to contribute to improving our local, national, and global communities.

At the university level, there is a real and urgent need for rigorous research and debate regarding fundamental human issues. How can scholars better understand prevailing narratives and counternarratives as they relate to socio-political, economic, and other forces that impact the human condition? Interdisciplinary research in the sciences and humanities is crucial. Our Working Group seeks to build on and enhance the scholarship of group members and to augment their research output. Our goal contributes to strategic plans at our respective universities to increase its academic and research profile, attract higher quality graduate and undergraduate students, and position ourselves as competitors in global education.

The Working Group provides the interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks necessary for interdisciplinary training in the humanities and social sciences. These frameworks enable students to think about diverse issues more holistically and to closely interrogate issues of ethics, inclusivity, citizenship, and civic responsibility.