Restructuring the Specialized University
In: Critical times: interventions in global critical theory, Band 5, Heft 1, S. 139-149
ISSN: 2641-0478
AbstractThis essay examines the relationship between academic and industrial practices of specialization and suggests pedagogical paths forward to foster greater interdisciplinary engagement in higher education and the workplace. After considering the common structures of current interdisciplinary initiatives in academia and highlighting the challenges often presented by specialization when amplified in the corporate sphere, this essay imagines a future university of 2050 in which interdisciplinarity has become structurally integral and transformative. The essay closes by proposing concrete pedagogical actions that could provide sustained opportunities for students to cultivate connections between fields, both in college and in their subsequent careers.