Interdisciplinarity: Suffering from a Lack of Effective Marketing?

Abstract

After a lulled period there is renewed debate in first-world institutions for increasing interdisciplinary studies and research. The literature has occasionally attempted to capture what “true interdisciplinary work” was and to lure the unbelievers with the use of metaphors, fables, and stories that has led to confusion. As a result, interdisciplinarity is not well understood and the lack of message clarity impacts it’s standing within the industry and society in general.   This paper purports to overcome marketing communications barriers by: a) defining and positioning the interdisciplinary movement vis-a-vis more traditional approaches; b) explaining what it is and what it is not; c) examining whether interdisciplinarity is on its way of becoming an established discipline; and d) parting with some concluding remarks.