Can we academics account for interdisciplinarity in a convincing way?
One of the theses we are exploring at CSID is that interdisciplinarity is the academy’s answer to the demand for accountability. Interdisciplinarity is often intended to tackle real-world (as opposed to merely academic) problems of the sort that no single discipline working alone could possibly solve. Interdisciplinarity, so the theory goes, has its raison d’etre in complexity. One might also reason that interdisciplinarity ought to be more effective than a single discipline.
But the question is, can we prove it — or if not, can we at least make a convincing case?
This question ties in with (and ties together) several research projects here at CSID: the philosophy of peer review, CAPR, and The Accountability Project.