Writing Among Disciplines

The purpose of majoring in a discipline is to demonstrate mastery in a particular field. This component builds on the idea of mastery, allowing students the opportunity to erase disciplinary boundaries in the following kinds of projects:

Collaborative: projects or activities completed by multiple creators (the student in collaboration with other students, faculty, or professionals), who may come from the same discipline. These activities are expected to be multidisciplinary in concept.

Interdisciplinary: projects or activities which have multiple collaborators from different disciplines.

Transdisciplinary: projects or activities completed by a single creator (the student), which are multidisciplinary in concept.

Level A

• Complete an internship in a setting that encourages interdisciplinarity.
• Publish and distribute a project such as a literary journal, magazine, or short film.
• Student Summer Scholars Project (must be interdisciplinary in nature).
• Collaborate with a student from History (or another discipline) to write a history of an organization.

Level B

• Present an interdisciplinary paper at a local/regional/national conference, such as Student Scholarship day.
• Present an interdisciplinary project in a public setting on a local/regional/national level (this can include a class presentation, if that presentation goes beyond the normal requirements of the course).
• Publish and distribute a project such as a literary journal, magazine, or short film.
• Lead a workshop or a discussion group.

The best projects and activities will combine disciplines in new ways. When appropriate, projects should be accompanied by a paper that includes a statement regarding the value of this particular interdisciplinary activity. Projects submitted in fields that are by definition interdisciplinary, such as hypertext media or writing for the web, must show how their project transcends the traditional interdisciplinary nature of their field.