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Been discussing this with friends, and having been in the t-course for a little while now, I think I have a better handle on this. I'd initially thought "transdisciplinary" meant getting people who have skills in different disciplines (whatever they are) together to apply their different disciplines to a problem. (One question, of course, is: how would that differ from an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving?)
Now I think the key to understanding is the "trans-" prefix. "Transdisciplinary" seems to mean to transcend disciplines entirely in approaching any problem. Just get a group of people together and go. The group doesn't even have to have anyone with a skill-set relevant to the issue at hand.
Simple enough question, but one that has not been asked, although the answer is assumed. Our syllabus states that transdisciplinary learning will require "a giant step away from the security of a known discipline."
But really, what is a discipline? Is it a theory? Perhaps a method? Or simply a traditional university department? Given the way that the t-courses are organized, I suspect the last is the answer, although it could also be the second option, given that our syllabus also states that in our research groups we will "apply multiple methodologies."
I should note something here. Whenever someone uses the word "methodology," what they really mean is "method." A method is a means by which one analyzes a set of data. Methodology is the study and comparison of methods. But merely saying "method" doesn't sound fancy or academic enough.
Anyway, there's the question, one that should have been explicitly addressed at the beginning of the course, given that this is what we are supposed to be doing.
The following links to an image that some might find offensive, and it's certainly not the sort of thing you should be viewing at work or where there are children around. I post it here because it is an image from New Orleans during Mardi Gras, and it is an aspect of the city we are proposing to rebuild. (Which leads to the question of whether this sort of thing should be part of the new New Orleans or not. I have no opinion on the subject, but merely pose the question.)
a href="http://community.livejournal.com/wtf_omgz/899347.html"This is New Orleans./a
The following links to an image that some might find offensive, and it's certainly not the sort of thing you should be viewing at work or where there are children around. I post it here because it is an image from New Orleans during Mardi Gras, and it is an aspect of the city we are proposing to rebuild. (Which leads to the question of whether this sort of thing should be part of the new New Orleans or not. I have no opinion on the subject, but merely pose the question.)
[a href="http://community.livejournal.com/wtf_omgz/899347.html"]This is New Orleans.[/a]
The following links to an image that some might find offensive, and it's certainly not the sort of thing you should be viewing at work or where there are children around. I post it here because it is an image from New Orleans during Mardi Gras, and it is an aspect of the city we are proposing to rebuild. (Which leads to the question of whether this sort of thing should be part of the new New Orleans or not. I have no opinion on the subject, but merely pose the question.)
<a href="http://community.livejournal.com/wtf_omgz/899347.html">This is New Orleans.</a>
