SHAPE AND ENCOURAGE YOUR INTERDISCIPLINARITY - Draw your interdisciplinarity
(*Requires approximately 30-60mins)
Our experience: as all of this section discusses, interdisciplinarity is hard to define, therefore we have tried to use different methods and approaches to pin down what it means to us. This particular exercise, again is not unique to our project but is a way of getting team members to start thinking about the project’s interdisciplinarity and their part in it. Over time we have found such representations have evolved, alongside the project.
Why?
Given the ambiguity of interdisciplinarity it is difficult to define not only as a term but also as to how it is occurring within a project. Adopting a creative approach can help with this. So rather than trying to narrow your interdisciplinarity down with words and language instead start off with drawing it or representing it creatively. This could then help to facilitate further discussion about the shape of your interdisciplinarity and what these creative pieces represent.
Exercise
If you’re struggling to define your interdisciplinarity why not have a go at trying to draw it instead. Or even better you could be even more creative and make it out of Lego, or plasticine or produce a collage from old newspapers and magazines. This is about getting out of your comfort zone (unless you use creative methods in your discipline!) to tackle what is a difficult and ambiguous subject.
This is probably best done in two groups or more if you’re a large team. Have 3 to 4 people on each group, and get them to draw or create something that represents the project’s interdiscipinarity. Examples which have been used before include a ship or a desert island – but be creative!
Things to think about:
• How you work together?
• Are disciplines important or is it more about certain people and their expertise and experience (see Personality and experience)
• Think about what your interdisciplinarity is like, could it be represented by a particular object, such as ship or a patchwork quilt, or is it more like a particular practice, such as baking or travelling?
• Are some people more prominent in the project than others? If so, why and how do you depict that?
• Can you include the project’s network? (see Networks)
• If you are a project that deals with external partners (stakeholders, members of the public) what part do they play in your project and how can you represent that part?