C.Ю. Резникова - Учебно-методическое пособие Biology and Other Sciences (1110810), страница 5

Просмтор этого файла доступен только зарегистрированным пользователям. Но у нас супер быстрая регистрация: достаточно только электронной почты!

Текст из файла (страница 5)

Besides, success in interdisciplinary fields also requires thedevelopment of a common scientific vocabulary. But I’m absolutely sure that if knowledge creation can prove and sustain its relevance to practice then interdisciplinary education and research is inevitable.Interviewer: Really? And what kind of students tend to be attracted to interdisciplinary programmes?Paul: Well, in the first place - they are probably individuals with a wide variety of interests, maybe free spiritswho don’t want to be limited in the scope of study or by a degree title. I think interdisciplinary programmes are attractive for creative, intellectually eclectic and generally curious people.30Interviewer: And how about employment opportunities for interdisciplinary graduates? Do you find them good?Paul: Hmm, it’s hard to say. I suspect what happens to many graduates from interdisciplinary studies is thatthey end up teaching in liberal arts somewhere, in which a broad scope of knowledge and teaching skills can beapplied.

I also suspect many of these graduates end up as consultants, contractors, entrepreneurs, writers, etc.where they don’t have to be pigeonholed. But I personally think that enrolment for interdisciplinary programswill increase only if employment options become more visible.Interviewer: What would be your advice to young people who are hesitating whether or not to enrol in aninterdisciplinary programme?Paul: Well, you should take advantage of the fact that your university, by definition, is a place where research isunder way simultaneously in many different fields.

Look for ways to make contacts with scientists in fieldsoutside of your particular specialty. The best way to start is via the Internet. Then take some time to simplywander around your campus, poke your head in the buildings, classrooms, offices, and laboratories of otherscience departments. Moreover attend several classes and seminars in other departments. It’ll be a good way tostart socializing with colleagues in other fields. If you find this process exciting and enjoyable then there is noreason to hesitate. Do your interdisciplinary research!Interviewer: Thanks a lot for sharing your ideas and interesting experiences about interdisciplinary studies.Paul: You are welcome. It was my pleasure.Speaker#2-Sue StampeInterviewer: Sue, Looking at your educational background I see that you took the interdisciplinary course.Sue: Yes, right. I was trained in an interdisciplinary program and I continue to do such work, but I would notadvise a student to follow my path.Interviewer: Really? Why?Sue: In my own department I hear comments that someone cannot really muster two disciplines because it ishard enough to study one.

When you cross disciplines, you are generally considered to be incompetent in both, not creative or synthetic, or any other positive qualities.Interviewer: But you don’t share such opinions, do you?Sue: Of course, not. It takes a certain kind of flexibility of mind to acquire jargon in multiple fields and relatetheories to each other when terminology, methods and evidence differ. Cross-fertilization can lead tobreakthroughs in my opinion, but we’re not nourishing the people who want to do that work.Interviewer: What do you mean?Sue: OK, let’s look me, for example.

I have tenure in a polytechnic state university but it took me close to 10years to get my first tenure-track job. I would have made different choices had I known that would be the resultof working across fields. I have taught in liberal arts colleges (visiting appointments) that value breadth, butthey typically don’t provide any opportunities to continue an active research program. 31Interviewer: And obviously, such a situation can’t generate any enthusiasm for initiatives that only lead peopleinto this kind of trouble.Sue: Exactly. Besides, young scholars are often discouraged by their disciplinary supervisors from engaging ininterdisciplinary research projects until they have first qualified for and obtained positions in their primary field.As a result it’s much harder for a student to find proper supervision in an interdisciplinary area than in a disciplinary area.Interviewer: As I understand it, Sue, you would definitely discourage young people from takinginterdisciplinary programmes.

Right?Sue: No, not exactly. The key point to learn from all this is to see your future not necessarily as disciplinaryversus interdisciplinary, but rather as one of disciplinary and interdisciplinary. Maintain your grounding in yoursubdiscipline while branching out across disciplinary boundaries. Doing so will not only increase the viability ofyour research career; it will make it much more interesting as well.Interviewer: Thanks so much for your time, Sue.Sue: It’s been a pleasure.Reference materials1.Global environmental challenges of the twenty-first century: resources, consumption, and sustainablesolutions by David E.

Lorey Rowman & Littlefield, 2003// Google books. Retrieved fromhttp://books.google.com2.WiseGEEK website. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/science.htm3.Marie D'Iorio, Gary W. Slater// Realizing Benefits from Interdisciplinary Research Retrieved fromhttp://www.cap.ca/pic/archives/59.2(2003)/editorial.html4.Что может ожидать человека в будущем?// Мир вопросов samoilenko.narod.ru/questions/human/026.htm)Dictionaries1.ABBY Lingvo 9.0 Электронный словарь. ABBY Software 20032.Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms © Cambridge University Press 19983.Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 7th edition, Oxford University Press, 20054.Longman Language Activator, New edition, Pearson Education Limited, 2002Internet resources1.Wikipedia The free online encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2.Think exist.com http://thinkexist.com/quotes/with/keyword/32(http://han-.

Характеристики

Список файлов книги