Beyond Interdisciplinarity: Boundary Work, Communication, and Collaboration

Oxford University Press, 2021. Paperback. Very Good. Beyond Interdisciplinarity examines the broadening meaning of core concept across academic disciplines and other forms of knowledge. In this book, Ass ociate Editor of The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity and internation ally recognized scholar Julie Thompson Klein depicts the heterogeneity and boundary work of inter- and trans-disciplinarity in a conceptual framework based on an ecology of spatializing practices in transaction spaces, includ ing trading zones and communities of practice. The book includes both "cros sdisciplinary" work (encompassing multi-, inter-, and trans-disciplinary fo rms) as well as "cross-sector" work (spanning disciplines, fields, professi ons, government and industry, and communities). The first section of the book defines and explains boundary work, discourse s of interdisciplinarity, and the nature of interdisciplinary fields. In th e second section, Klein examines dynamics of working across disciplines, in cluding communication, collaboration, and learning with concrete examples a nd lessons from research projects and programs that transcend traditional f ields. The closing chapter examines reasons for failure and success then pr esents gateways to literature and other resources. Throughout the book, Klein emphasizes the roles of contextualization and historical change while factoring in the shifting relationship of disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, ascendancy of transdisciplinarity, and intersections with other constructs including Mode 2 knowledge production, convergence, team science, and postdisciplinarity. The conceptual framework she provides also includes the role of boundary objects.