Extending the Reach of Interdisciplinary Studies

 

“Interdisciplinary study, for me, is extremely important,” said Sam Cleveland, a senior who is now enrolled in his fourth IDS class. “It teaches students ‘real world’ skills that otherwise go completely under the radar in high school. Being able to synthesize information from multiple disciplines is extremely important not only in Interdisciplinary Studies courses, but also in life.”

“Our courses are skills-centered,” said Dr. Julian Willard, chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies Department. “By integrating two or more disciplines to explain a phenomenon, solve a problem, or create a product, you end up with a result you couldn’t have achieved through just one discipline.”

“This fall I was fortunate enough to take The Holocaust with Mrs. Davidson,” commented Jacob Solomons ’16. “We first learned of the history behind the Holocaust and the horrifying details, but then we looked closer into the society and studied the arts. We not only focused on visual arts and all that was destroyed, but also on the performing arts. This was definitely the highlight of the course; we listened to Verdi’s Requiem and learned how detainees in concentration camps were able to learn and perform pieces of music. Finally we eased into the science behind the Nazis’ actions with Ms. Vannoni from the science department, focusing on how Hitler incorporated eugenics into his ideology.”

Rivers established the IDS Department in 2009 because the faculty felt a complete high school education should require students to engage with this kind of demanding and high level study, both for its intrinsic educational value and for the growing need for graduates who have skill and confidence with such study. Rivers already had a strong tradition of interdisciplinary studies with the Middle School’s humanities program that combines English and social studies at each grade level.

“Interdisciplinary education teaches students how to think rigorously, learn collaboratively, and act effectively in an increasingly complex and globalized world,” said Willard. “Today, problems rarely come neatly packaged along traditional disciplinary lines.”

The IDS department received a $50,000 matching grant from the E. E. Ford Foundation in 2012 to provide professional development opportunities to Rivers faculty in order to better understand the cognitive, social, emotional dimensions of interdisciplinary work, and to develop new interdisciplinary courses.

Courses being offered for 2015-16 include: Adaptation; BIG History; The Earth, Humans, and Environmental Policy; The Holocaust; Technology & Humanity; Dante’s Divine Comedy; Financial Investment Analysis; Pathogens, People, and Inequality; Design for the Common Good; Exploring Ethics; and Medieval Spain. Each course is cross-listed with another department, including English, history, language, mathematics, and science; IDS courses fulfill the requirements in both departments (e.g., IDS and history, or IDS and English).

Faculty members who teach IDS courses at Rivers often invite guest lecturers, both from within and beyond the school, to give students a wide range of perspectives from which to view and evaluate the subjects they are studying. Rivers’ faculty are by nature extremely collaborative and more than a dozen have made appearances in IDS classes.

“As a school, Rivers continues to be guided by the fundamental principle of ‘excellence with humanity,’” concluded Willard. “While excellence provided the rationale for the Interdisciplinary Studies Department, humanity has determined the department’s content. 

“There is growing evidence that in a rapidly changing, globalized environment, an aptitude for and confidence with intellectual and creative synthesis are increasingly vital qualities for successful graduates. Rivers’ IDS classes provide an opportunity to do just that.”