Calls for closer connections among disciplines can be heard throughout the world of scholarly research, from major universities to the National Institutes of Health. In Defense of Disciplines presents a fresh and daring analysis of the argument surrounding interdisciplinarity. Challenging the belief that blurring the boundaries between traditional academic fields promotes more integrated research and effective teaching, Jerry Jacobs contends that the promise of interdisciplinarity is illusory and that critiques of established disciplines are often overstated and misplaced. Drawing on diverse sources of data, Jacobs offers a new theory of liberal arts disciplines such as biology, economics, and history that identifies the organizational sources of their dynamism and breadth. Illustrating his thesis with a wide range of case studies including the diffusion of ideas between fields, the creation of interdisciplinary scholarly journals, and the rise of new fields that spin off from existing ones, Jacobs turns many of the criticisms of disciplines on their heads to mount a powerful defense of the enduring value of liberal arts disciplines. This will become one of the anchors of the case against interdisciplinarity for years to come.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
ISBN-13
9780226069326
eBay Product ID (ePID)
182930439
Product Key Features
Subject Area
Information Management
Author
Jerry A. Jacobs
Publication Name
In Defense of Disciplines: Interdisciplinarity and Specialization in the Research University
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Subject
Coaching & Career Guidance
Publication Year
2014
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
288 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
228mm
Item Width
152mm
Item Weight
434g
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Jerry A. Jacobs
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
Best Selling in Adult Learning & University
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Adult Learning & University