1. Issues in interdisciplinary teaching and learning John Canning Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies University of Southampton

2. Area Studies “Area Studies is a generic term applied to the study of the society or societies of a given geographical space” QAA e.g American Studies, European Studies, African Studies Multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary

3. Disciplines of Area Studies Social Sciences e.g. economics, geography, politics, sociology Arts and humanities e.g. history, modern languages, Literature Area Studies Project SCs. LLAS, Economics, English, GEES, HCA, C- SAP

4. Encouraging interdisciplinary Subject Centres (many cover 2+ subjects). Subject Centre collaboration CETLs Interdisciplinary/ Joint/ Combined/ Major- Minor degree schemes

5. Discipline Tribes with identities and cultural attributes. Becher (1989) Guild/ religious community, vocation, lifelong commitment (Parker 2002). Cf: Subject= knowledge acquisition

6. Rationales for interdisciplinary teaching De Zure (online) Life is interdisciplinary (social problems AIDS, crime, poverty). Overcomes artificial fragmentation of knowledge.

7. Rationales for interdisciplinary teaching (continued) Interdisciplinary needs of the workplace. Share knowledge and resources between departments. Technological change has changed ways knowledge organised.

8. Barriers to interdisciplinarity Learning styles (Kolb) Student socialisation Institutional structures Assessment

9. Learning styles (Kolb)

10. Student socialisation into disciplines Academic ‘stars’. Key research journals Disciplinary histories and ‘heroic myths’.

11. Institutional structures Multiple departments- issues of student (and staff) identities. Programmes vulnerable to staff changes in contributing departments Pastoral and academic support must be well worked out.

12. Curriculum and Assessment Area Studies Benchmarking statement supposes contributing disciplines decide appropriate assessment. Teaching staff teach and assess from own discipline.

13. Curriculum and Assessment (cont) Lack of differentiation learning outcomes. Lower attainment of non-specialists (?) Resistance to teaching non-specialists. Concerns about ‘watering down’/ ‘dumbing down’.

14. Opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching New schools/ faculties lead to opportunities for interdisciplinary programmes in one department. Traditional interdisciplinary courses such as PPE suggest quality not compromised.

15. Opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching (cont) Interdisciplinary CETLs. Possibilities for students without traditional ‘A’ levels. Employability