Scaling Barriers to Interdisciplinary Innovation: Beyond One-Size-Fits-All Approaches

• In Event: Innovative Academic Infrastructures: Digitalization, Collaboration, and Experimentation - I

Abstract

Calls for novel production and distribution of knowledge are nothing new; however, structural and institutional barriers remain. Drawing on our experience leading an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program, we argue that these barriers do not have one-size-fits-all solutions. In this paper, we identify key challenges and propose possible solutions. First, many existing approaches to innovation risk increasing labor inequities. Often, pushing the boundaries of writing genres, media technologies, data sharing, or collaboration requires that one also do the traditional thing--write a full dissertation on top of an interactive project, publish in venues in addition to being a public scholar, and do solo-authored work alongside collaborations. Would-be innovators must consider how they will work toward labor parity. Second, contemporary investigations routinely require interdisciplinary training, but the model of the US university mostly relies on disciplines, thus producing challenges when interdisciplinary scholars are evaluated within the metrics of individual departments. We ask: How will you build in an explanation of your novel structure and how does it relate to traditional research and teaching systems? Third, reworking academic infrastructures requires considering the challenges of collaboration. Students emerging from Ph.D.s that involve collaborative work may have to defend both their lack of clear credit and their ability to work alone. How will your novel organization build in clear documentation of contribution at every stage? To illustrate some of these issues, we draw on examples from our own experience both training Ph.D. students and producing nontraditional intellectual products.

Authors

• Mel Stanfill, University of Central Florida

• Anastasia Salter, University of Central Florida