British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences

A British Academy Workshop

Working Together Across Disciplines: Challenges for the Natural and Social Sciences

Convenor: Professor Wyn Grant, University of Warwick

Friday, 12 May 2006

£20 (£10 concessions)

ABOUT THIS EVENT | PROGRAMME

The idea of interdisciplinary research attracts much interest and support, not least from government, but actually undertaking it is much more difficult. Interdisciplinary research faces many challenges in a university environment including a lack of institutional support structures and incentives for researchers, lack of development of philosophical foundations for interdisciplinary research, and difficulties in assessing the quality of interdisciplinary research. These issues are tackled by Professor Joyce Tait who is one of the UK's leading experts on this subject. David Chandler and Wyn Grant draw on their practical experience of interdisciplinary research as natural and social scientists working together in the Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) programme funded by the Research Councils and will discuss some of the methodological problems that arise in such cooperation. Professor Albert Weale questions whether social scientists are well equipped to deal with quality of life issues and considers a political theory of the quality of life. It may be, however, that a post-disciplinary approach is what is required which is what Dr Barry Gills discusses in the context of global social relations. There will be ample opportunities for discussion between disciplines in this workshop chaired by Professor Jeff Waage from the Centre for Environmental Research at Imperial College, London.

A session on Working Together Across Discplines was held on 13 September 2007, as part of the British Association for the Advancement of Science's 2007 Festival of Science.