Interdisciplinary research & inquiry
This learning objective surrounds a student's ability to engage with areas of knowledge they may not be familiar with and, through their research, learn the material and work alongside it to create research questions, source numerous relevant works, and present well informed evidence based findings confidently. Interdisciplinary research & inquiry is a cornerstone throughout the IAS pipeline as it ensures students, and soon to be future employees, business owners, and leaders, will have the ability to process information through a multitude of lenses. In other words, this LO positions students to sift through intimidating scholarly pieces in pursuit of higher knowledge and emboldens them to disseminate findings through various means to be the most digestible to their intended audiences.
This learning objective matters to me specifically because its utility in navigating complicated fields lends itself to my degree (Media & Communications). This degree, like this learning objective, is versatile and capable of being useful across a wide array of disciplines if one could naturally find a link between their skill set and an employer's needs. Interdisciplinary research and inquiry has given me the skills necessary to carve out a path towards a future I may find fulfilling. This objective lends itself to the world in the same way. With the ability to critically analyze information and process it meaningfully, people have the opportunity to better understand one another and engage in a multitude of valid perspectives surrounding key issues or concepts.
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The first artifact I am interested in dissecting, as it relates to interdisciplinary research & inquiry, has to be a research proposal I wrote on plastic pollution in the ocean (See at the bottom of this page or in Archive). This assignment comes from one of the first classes I took at UWB, Interdisciplinary Inquiry, and the goal of the assignment was to draft a professional proposal targeting any world issue of my choosing. This class and, more specifically, this assignment marked a large transition from the casual tempo of general education requirements to the fast paced and specialized work one may associate with a mastery of a subject in higher education. In other words, we weren’t in Kansas anymore. This proposal wasn’t a standard final essay. Instead, it was the opportunity to embody the role of the researcher and explore our chosen issue deeply by collecting as much scholarly evidence as possible to present to a panel of students as if they knew nothing at all. We were required to include an abstract, key words, research questions, a thesis statement, a methods statement, an interdisciplinary statement, literature review, an argument, counter arguments, and a 1-2 page annotated bibliography. I mention this not to emphasize the volume of the work, but to highlight a multi-layered use of interdisciplinary research & inquiry within this artifact. What I mean by that is, this assignment asked me to enter the world of ocean contaminants, a world I knew next to nothing about. I reviewed countless academic journals, articles, and documentaries piecing together a cohesive narrative all the while independently learning about the fractured state of our ocean. This learning objective was utilized twofold, however, as I was also learning how to properly format and argue within a research proposal by adapting my own arguments and writing style towards the styles and format of the very articles I was citing.
The second artifact I would like to present has to be a case study on offshore wind turbines (See at the bottom of this page or in Archive). This assignment is representative of interdisciplinary research & inquiry in a slightly different way as I wasn’t necessarily interested in the subject matter. In short, this artifact was part 1 of a 2 part final assignment in the class Biodiversity Conservation (Part 1 being an essay, Part 2 being a presentation). Throughout the quarter, students were required to locate and take notes on various sources surrounding different aspects of offshore wind production ranging from location, funding, environmental impacts, community impacts, legislation surrounding wind projects, etc. Then, at the end of the quarter, we compiled this data into a large comprehensive piece arguing for or against the production of turbines. Much like my first artifact, the research required for this assignment was extensive and intensive leading to the final draft including a whopping 18 scholarly sources.
The link between interdisciplinary research & inquiry and this artifact is apparent through the investigation of offshore wind projects and their impact on an environment and economy. I chose to showcase it because of my personal lack of interest in the subject. Don’t get me wrong, offshore wind is certainly an interesting topic but it wouldn’t have been my first pick. The important takeaway from this artifact is that the skill enshrined within this learning objective works outside the confines of personal interest and, though I didn’t find it all that exciting, I was still able to purposefully investigate my topic and demonstrate my new body of knowledge to my professor and peers. Interdisciplinary research & inquiry aren’t about promoting self interest but instead demonstrating the ability to traverse any number of knowledge areas efficiently and to come away from that research with new understandings.
Interdisciplinary research and inquiry is the bread and butter of the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences. Without this learning objective, all the other objectives lose value. Interdisciplinary research and inquiry is what keeps us honest and adding to studies, theories, and conversations around key global issues and practices. It is foundational and necessary to use this learning objective through life as it ensures you are well informed and able to build upon pre established ideas and understandings or challenge them equipped with the knowledge to do so.