TSD 8130 - Transdisciplinarity:Complex Thought and the Pattern That Connects

Institution:

California Institute of Integral Studies

Subject:

Description:

It is becoming increasingly clear that complex issues often cannot be addressed from the perspective of a single discipline. This course focuses on how research is conducted across disciplines. We will briefly explore the history of disciplines and inter- and transdisciplinarity, and study a number of exemplars that draw from disparate disciplines to assess a variety of possible strategies. Transdisciplinarity will be presented as an approach that is inquiry rather than discipline driven; is meta-paradigmatic rather than intra-paradigmatic; requires a form of complex thought to organize knowledge in a way that connects and contextualizes, rather than separates and reduces; and acknowledges the central role of the knower in all knowing. How can we learn to think across disciplines in a way that is inquiry based, when we have been taught to think inside our disciplinary silos The work of a number of transdisciplinary exemplars will be studied in depth. Topics include how to develop a knowledge base in a multidisciplinary approach; how to research, review, and integrate perspectives from different sources relevant for the student's research topic; how to develop a solid understanding of the dominant discourse(s) in one's area of inquiry and address its limitations; and how to develop a theoretical framework for inquiry. The course will also cover how to integrate the knower in the known-how to reflect on how who we are and our values, assumptions, and blind spots play a role in our inquiry. Students will be able to ground all the work in this class in their own chosen areas of inquiry.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.ciis.edu

Phone Number:

(415) 575-6100

Regional Accreditation:

Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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