First, we want to say thank you all for being a part of our blog, and one thing we are going to do to better facilitate dialogue for all of us is to post our initial conversation no later than Friday for you all to respond to, and offer more responses during the week on our part. This week, we are going to talk about Integration.
Ada on Interdisciplinarity and Integration:
I think the things I've enjoyed the most in my academic career have been projects that integrated two or more of my fields of study. My minor is Computer Science (before switching to IDS I was a computer science major) and my two other fields of study are Letters & Modern Languages and Behavioral & Social Sciences. Let me give you some examples of how I've integrated different areas:
* Modern Languages and Social Sciences
This one's pretty easy - - I'm very interested in linguistic anthropology; I'm actually taking a class on it right now (ANT 3610). I love studying how people speak, why they speak the way they do, how language reflects culture, and how culture is formed by language.
* Computer Science and Modern Languages
Natural Language Processing is a particular interest of mine, and something I'd like to pursue if I ever decide to attempt any graduate computer science work. The idea behind this is basically using computers to understand or generate human languages. In particular, I'd like to pursue research in computer processing of sign language; a lot of this involves Computer Vision, which is something I've been learning about at work for the past year.
I haven't really found a way to academically integrate computer science and social sciences, though depending on how you look at it you might say I work in all these different fields on a daily basis: I work at the UCF Computer Vision Lab, which is a pretty fascinating environment to me, not only as a computer scientist but as an anthropologist. For one thing, I'm one of only two females working in an otherwise male lab. (Really, it's an overwhelmingly male-dominated field to begin with.) We're also a very culturally diverse lab; a couple of us were born in the United States, but most of the people I work with come from other places, like the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe. Throw in the fact that I help proofread papers and give lessons in English pretty frequently (very few of my coworkers are native English speakers) and you could say I integrate _all_ of my fields at work! =) Arguably, though, a lot of what I'm talking about here is multidisciplinary, not interdisciplinary.
Joseph on Interdisciplinarity and Integration:
Thanks Ada for such a great post. I have to say that integration for me is quite simple for the most part. I have a minor in Mathematics and have one area of concentration is Physical Sciences, such as Astronomy and Physics, and the Physics classes I have taken are all Calculus-based, so I did not have to do much on my own, but I am grateful because the integration actually gives me a deeper understanding of the material. My other area of concentration is the Social and Behavioral Sciences. One thing I am contemplating working on is the Psychology of Mathematics, and by this I mean how we feel towards Math itself, from an early age to us as adults. It seems that at an early age you will either have a liking for Mathematics, or (more likely) a rather strong distaste for it, and this leads to many people not studying it. I really feel that Mathematics is quite important and hope this research of my own disproves my hunch that a lot of people just do not like Math. I hope that you all do! I love it!
Here are some questions to ponder this week:
How have or haven't you integrated your areas and minor?
Why do you believe integration of your areas and minor are important in terms of professional, academic, and/or personal development?
How do you believe your areas and minor can be better integrated?
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I couldn’t have taken nursing classes and understood what was going on without first having taken the biology courses I have taken. In addition, without having taken the nursing classes I have taken the sociology classes I am taking now and will take in the future would not have the same impact that they do on how I consider the human experience. I can say that my all of my courses of study have a deep effect on how I look at individuals and their life conditions. With the physical sciences I have taken (Biology and Microbiology) I have learned about biological processes that have an effect on – and to some degree drive human life. With the health sciences I have taken (nursing classes) I have learned how those biological processes – and the breakdowns in them – can affect quality of life. In addition, having been in a community oriented nursing program, I have learned how the community and one’s standing within the community can really affect outcomes for an individual. Finally, from a sociological perspective, I am learning about social conditions which dictate a person’s experiences including their relationship to and access to quality healthcare. To some degree these courses overlap each other in some way.
ReplyDeleteI believe that integration of my areas and minor are important because they will provide me with a deeper more holistic understanding of the human condition and the forces that drive an individual’s life experience.
I believe my areas and minor can be better integrated by taking the time to think about an individual’s experience (including my own) from all of the perspectives provided by my areas and then coming to a conclusion based on all of the information and knowledge available to me. Basically, to apply what I have learned to gain a deeper understanding of a person’s situation.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI think your story is very relevant to this week's reading, particularly the section on narrative medicine. I've only ever been on the "patient" side of medicine/nursing, but the best care I've received has been from practitioners who took the time to understand my "story", as it were. In this sense I guess you could say that interdisciplinarity is really becoming a requirement for giving good health care.
Ada, I absolutely agree. And with UCF's nursing program there was a focus on the individual's experience in the community. That has really complimented my experience in sociology. I hope that integrating my understandings from all of my areas will really allow me to understand an individual's experience, feel empathy for them, and empower them to make the cahanges they need to make to have a better life.
ReplyDeleteNot only will having empathy for your patients allow you to connect to them and make the experience warm, you can also take better care of them because patients love to tell narratives about how they ended up where they are, and from that information, you can treat them even better than others who just want the facts.
ReplyDeleteFor me the integration of Chemistry and Biology is very simple. Many things overlap in these two areas and taking classes such as Biochemistry and Microbiology work to reinforce this integration. You can't fully understand the biology of plants and animals if you can't understand the chemical processes that are going on within them. I was a chemistry major before I decided I wanted to go to pharmacy school and I am really glad that I have such a good chemistry background because most of the biology classes I am taking now are much easier for me to understand because so much is shared between these two subject areas.
ReplyDeleteEven chemistry and my minor in math is pretty easily integrated. In chemistry you deal with numerous equations to find things like rate of reactions and moles of a products. Having all the knowledge that I do about math definitely helps when solving these equations. I have even taken some calculus based upper level chemistry classes such as Physical chemistry 1 and 2.
The harder integration is between my minor, Mathematics and biology. Although I have not found a way to integrate these two yet, I am sure there is one! And as soon as I discover one it will benefit me in many of the same ways the other integrations have.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI like how you said to better integrate your areas you need "to apply what I have learned to gain a deeper understanding of a person’s situation." I think that is exactly what needs to be done! Especially by someone who wants to enter health care! This is what needs to be done in order to get the maximum benefit from all of your areas, and I need to do this as well. I think integration of multiple subjects makes you think differently than you normally would and look at everything from numerous perspectives. And this can only benefit you in the end.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, how is calculus used in upper-level chemistry? I only took CHM 2045 and 2046 (though I made it to Calc II) but we only ever used, to my recollection, pretty basic algebra. (Stuff like you said, balancing equations, finding molarities...)
My areas of study and my minor, luckily for me, go hand in hand when it comes to not only learning but application for the future. Both of my areas of study are in the sciences, life and physical, and my minor is in health science so many of the things I learn in my areas of study apply to my minor but in a different perspective. Integration of my areas and my minor are key in the development of not only my academics but my professional standpoint as well. If I want to continue on and eventually go to medical school I would definitely need to be educated not only in my areas of study but in health science as well due to the fact that that is mainly what I would be further learning in medical school as it is. This is the same if I were to find a job in a doctor’s office or hospital, although I learn so much in my areas of study, my minor is what is teaching me the hands on perspective of patients and application of the sciences I've already learned. I really don’t think there is a way my areas of study and minor could be better integrated. I feel that I'm doing a good job of combining the different aspects and applying them accordingly as well as setting myself up for success in the future.
ReplyDeleteAda,
ReplyDeleteIn Physical Chemistry the math gets pretty crazy! We had to integrate some of the hardest equations I have ever seen! There were even some with all variables that we had to derive from the original equation. We dealt with wave equations to try to predict where the electrons would be. It was crazy and it was the semester I was in P. Chem 2 that I decided to switch my major to IDS! :)
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like our areas of study and minor are a lot alike. I love that application of the more difficult classes we have taken is taken to the next, and more personal, level throughout our health science courses. It has given me a much better understanding of the scientific processes as well as allowed me to see the technical side of why someone is sick etc.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteReading you post I thought the same thing. We have a lot of similarity. It is amazing really how the disciplines really do overlap one another and I am looking forward to the opportunity to integrate knowledge from the disciplines. We definitely have a great opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of a person's situation. I wish you luck should you decide to go on to medical school. With the basis of your areas and minor you should be well equipped to succeed in a healthcare field.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteThank you. Upon reading your post I was reminded of the saying "if you are a hammer everything looks like a nail" so the benefit of interdisiplinarity is looking at a situation from multiple perspectives and determining the best solution - not just looking at everything as a nail. You said this understanding could "benefit" me and I agree. I also think it would benefit the patient as well.