In academia today there is a tension between the importance of interdisciplinary studies compared to single discipline research. Although universities encourage collaboration across disciplines as an effective means for applied research individuals are evaluated and rewarded for production within their own departments. To see the range of the discussion on this point, google interdisciplinary studies on the Chronicle of Higher Education website.
This tension can also be framed within a me vs we approach. In a strict disciplinary approach, departments are viewed as individual “me” silos concerned foremost with their own self-interest and often with little concern about what happens outside of their own walls. The interdisciplinary approach is considerably more engaging as a web of interaction that plays off of multiple partners. In this capacity, the product of the interdisciplinary whole is more than the sum its individual departmental components creating a group synergy.
I have thought about the need for an interdisciplinary approach for a cultural heritage development in project in Orange Mound, an African American community of Memphis Tennessee with roots extending into the late 1800s. The Museum Studies Graduate Certificate Program at the University of Memphis is currently assisting the Orange Mound community in the creation of a local component for the traveling exhibit The Way We Worked from the Smithsonian Institution. Orange Mound community discussions around the exhibit immediately raised possibilities for other cultural heritage projects. In Memphis, there are many individual neighborhood possibilities but little in the way of a collaborative approach. For example, typical cultural resource management archaeological projects result in gray literature reports and boxes of cultural materials, but little in the way public access or presentation. A notable exception includes virtual presentations such as the Lamar Terrace project. As well, for the past five years, the Rhodes College Crossroads to Freedom Project has collected oral history from the African American community. I have posted before about community cultural heritage the C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa collaborated on in Southwest Memphis. But there is little or no effort to develop an interdisciplinary consortium of collaboration for these types of projects
Interdisciplinary projects have demonstrated considerable worth in broader community development. For example, at the University of Memphis a colleague, Katherine Lambert-Pennington recently received national recognition for her work in this area.
When considering cultural heritage projects such as at Orange Mound, an interdisciplinary approach seems the most fitting. The Collaborative for Cultural Heritage and Museum Practices (CHAMP) at the University of Illinois is one such example. A quick scan of the CHAMP faculty demonstrates the broad interdisciplinary approach that the Collaborative can bring to any issue. Consider the breadth of those faculty and their resources to envision any cultural heritage or museum project. Consider how that interdisciplinary set of skills and ability will benefit the greater whole. I suspect that there are few cultural heritage projects where going it alone will produce a better product. However, such the multidisciplinary approach necessitates that we all move out of our individual silos and into a web of interconnection with others.
How can you benefit from a collaborative interdisciplinary relationship?
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