How can a computer scientist help archaeologists study Neolithic China? How can studying literature help neuroscientists understand the human brain? How can an ancient historian help us understand international politics today? Interdisciplinary research requires scholars to communicate knowledge across traditional academic boundaries. Such communication presents unique challenges: how does a scientist write for both an audience of computer scientists and archaeologists without sacrificing detail and complexity?
This course will introduce students to strategies for reading and writing interdisciplinary papers.
Through a variety of short readings, students will learn to work through jargon-laden texts and gain confidence in their ability to read academic papers. This course will also provide students the opportunity to co-author a short research paper on an interdisciplinary topic suited to their own interests. Workshops on each stage of the research writing process with give students tools to be effective interdisciplinary readers, writers, and project managers.