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ISD9: Humanities Across Disciplinary Borders


About

Socio-economic inequities and political divisiveness have forced ordinary people to reckon with everyday practices within all spheres of life. Such concerns ripple through the Humanities, raising questions about what we do and how we do it.

Open to New People

Active since: 2022

  • Syracuse University
  • Cornell University
  • University of Rochester
  • Rochester Institute of Technology

Collaborative Goals

This interdisciplinary Working Group brings together a diverse range of scholars, some squarely in the Humanities and others outside it, to explore strategies for building interdisciplinary collaboration. The collaborative goals of the Working Group include developing a deeper understanding of contemporary issues and their effects on humanity. We investigate how scholars and researchers at global universities can research these issues and be at the forefront of understanding and interpreting such transformations across the humanities and across disciplinary borders. Additionally, we plan to share ideas on how we can inform students, policymakers, and the public. A goal of the Working Group is for our work to contribute to improving our local, national, and global communities.

At the university level, there is a real and urgent need for rigorous research and debate regarding fundamental human issues. How can scholars better understand prevailing narratives and counternarratives as they relate to socio-political, economic, and other forces that impact the human condition? Interdisciplinary research in the sciences and humanities is crucial. Our Working Group seeks to build on and enhance the scholarship of group members and to augment their research output. Our goal contributes to strategic plans at our respective universities to increase its academic and research profile, attract higher quality graduate and undergraduate students, and position ourselves as competitors in global education.

The Working Group provides the interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks necessary for interdisciplinary training in the humanities and social sciences. These frameworks enable students to think about diverse issues more holistically and to closely interrogate issues of ethics, inclusivity, citizenship, and civic responsibility.

Group Organizers

Brian Barry

Associate Professor Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Rochester Institute of Technology

Carol Faulkner

Professor, History Department; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Maxwell School; Tenth Decade Faculty Scholar, Syracuse University

Danielle Taana Smith

Director of the Honors Program, Professor of African American Studies, Syracuse University

Kira Reed

Associate Professor of Management, Syracuse University

Lenora Warren

Assistant Professor, Literatures in English, Cornell University

Melissa Yuen

Curator, Syracuse University Art Museum

Patrick W. Berry

Associate Professor, Writing and Rhetoric, Syracuse University

Shirley Samuels

Professor of English, Director of American Studies, Cornell University

Tynelle Stewart

Assistant Dean & Director, Center for Education Abroad; Assistant Vice Provost for Global Education, University of Rochester