S Transdisciplinarity

Transdisciplinarity - Presentation Session Part 1

Presentation from Sister Jayanti:

Transdisciplinarity - Presentation Session Part 2

Presentation from Ian Douglas: "Teaching Human Ecology by walking round an old gravel pit"

The study of human ecology cannot be disentangled from a process of becoming both ecological and sociological in the field. Bringing practical experience to the forefront of education in human ecology helps people to become aware of the need for sensitivity towards all other human beings and to all components of the ecosystems in which they live. In teaching about the urban environment and sustainable development in Manchester, beginning in 1979, I found field excursions and small field projects to be among the things that students recalled the most vividly decades later. In a complex city whose character has changed over 50 years or more, a walk lasting two hours can unravel many examples of environmental management, cultural change, ecological restoration, recreational demands on the landscape and the consequences of engineering works. A walk around a former gravel pit adjoining the River Mersey in South Manchester demonstrates flood management, sewage treatment; the impact of golf courses, the ecological restoration of landfills, eighteenth century canal building; the valley as a transport corridor for highways, powerlines and gas mains; nature conservations and regulation of the use of lake waters for recreation. Other walks show changes in use of buildings, including canal warehouses, but especially religious buildings that have changed uses, reflecting the cultural history of inner-city suburbs. I urge all engaged in human ecology education to explore the local environment with their students.

Presentation from Adam Douglas Henry: "Mapping University Research & Education Networks to Support Learning for Sustainability"

Universities are an important focal point for scientific innovation around grand challenges of sustainability (“learning”). As such, universities engaged in environmental research have repeatedly considered how to organize their research and education landscape through the creation of a “networked system” including centers, institutes, departments, as well as incentives for collaboration. In practice, these efforts have often faced a fundamental challenge of learning in networks: Learning is supported through networks that promote diversity and integration across disciplines, whereas real-world networks tend towards fragmentation and the creation of disciplinary silos. A persistent challenge for universities is thus to overcome disciplinary fragmentation so that research networks include a broad array of perspectives. It is believed that cross-disciplinary networks will promote the “convergence science” needed to adequately address grand research challenges. This presentation discusses the general problem of learning in networks and presents a network-analytic method for systematically mapping university landscapes. This approach may be used to evaluate university approaches to environmental research and education, and suggest new strategies for organizing universities efforts to promote learning for sustainability.

Transdisciplinarity - Presentation Session Part 2 - Discussion