Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

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LETTER  TO THE EDITOR
Rethinking Higher Education
Oskar Gruenwald, Ph.D., JIS Editor

Letter to the Editor:  New York Times (30 April 2009):

Dear Editor:  Congrats on publishing the iconoclastic op ed, "End the University as We Know It," by Mark C. Taylor, Chair, Religion Dept., Columbia University (26 April 09).  It is indeed refreshing to hear from a distinguished academic the rationale for restructuring the university.  Yet, the brief op ed overlooks significant efforts to rethink the nature of higher education, research, teaching, and thus the purposes and goals of a university.  This is precisely what a group of creative scholars have attempted during the past quarter century via the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research and the International Christian Studies Association which co-sponsor the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies: An International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Interfaith Dialogue, a refereed trilingual thematic annual (on a shoestring budget).  Info on the web at: www.JIS3.org.  In its 20 thematic volumes (ca. 4480 pages) thus far, this Journal has endeavored to interconnect all disciplines in dialogue as well as reconnect once more knowledge with ethics and faith.  We have done this via a great deal of mentoring and teaching academics why it is important to draw on insights in various disciplines, fields, and subfields.  Prof. Taylor surmises correctly that most academics have no clue what is meant by "interdisciplinary" research.  Alas, the term has become somewhat of a pejorative, associated often with extended or remedial education, while purists perceive it somehow below their dignity since "interdisciplinary" appears to be an excuse by some for not doing their homework.  An important admission of the relevance of interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge and problem-solving in the 21st century is the report by the National Academy of Sciences, Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research (2004).  However, to restructure the contemporary university would be equivalent to 1776!  A free sample article is on the JIS web at: www.JIS3.org/samplearticle.htm featuring my essay on: "The Globalization Paradox," published in JIS XX 2008: 1-20.  Sincerely, Oskar Gruenwald, Ph.D., JIS Editor, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research,
1065 Pine Bluff Dr., Pasadena, CA 91107, USA.

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Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies: An International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Interfaith Dialogue (ISSN 0890-0132) is co-sponsored by the International Christian Studies Association and published by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research (Fed. ID No. 95-3956070). JIS appears in a double issue once per year (September). Annual subscriptions: Individual $15; Institutional $25; Student $10 (Canada/Mexico: $30; Overseas: $35/vol.). JIS is trilingual: English, German, and French. Foreign language articles carry a 500-word English summary. JIS is abstracted or indexed in H. W. Wilson's Social Sciences & Humanities Index/Abstracts, Guide to Social Science and Religion, Sociological Abstracts, International Bibliography of Periodical Literature (IBZ-Germany), Religion Index One, ATLA Religion Database, Religious & Theological Abstracts, Catholic Periodical Literary Index, et al.  JIS is available also in electronic databases: Wilson's Social Sciences & Humanities Full Text (Omnifile), ProQuest Information & Learning, EBSCO, etc. Second-class postage paid at Santa Monica, CA, and additional mailing office. Inquiries: JIS Editor, 1065 Pine Bluff Dr., Pasadena, CA 91107, USA. Copyright © 2009 by IIR.
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