In regard to American Studies, the word interdisplinary, as an instituitional structure, is the idea of looking at events or ideas from multiple perspectives, or “disciplines,” such as history, philosophy or sociology (Deloria 17). As academia changes and adopts new “disciplines” it is difficult to differientiate the relevant from the irrelevant. “The anthrolopoligist Clifford Geertz put it, to transgress boundaries between disciplines,” (Deloria 19), he wanted to explore more than one point of view, put these toghter and have a more sound perspective. By refusing to adhere to one specific path academics crossed these paths to create new courses of study. To explore the meaning of interdisciplinary I am going to use a simple item, garlic. Garlic can be viewed as an ingredient in recipes, a way to ward of vampires in folk lore or a cause of bad breath. Depending on your view you might view something as simple as garlic as any of these one things but by using interdisciplary studies you may ask why is it a main ingredient in certain parts of the world more than others, why it became a part of folk lore or the reasons for it causing bad breath and finally what links do these questions share.
Interdisciplinary means looking at something with the education, view, and knowledge of a specific background and adding other points of view together to create a broader understanding.
Tricia's thoughts 
Your example of garlic is spot on. When I was reading this week I wasn’t quite understanding the definition from an American Studies point of view but putting it to terms with something that seems so minuscule such as garlic makes more sense to me than from the reading.
LikeLike
Well, you’re going to love the part of the book where they riff for pages about a urinal (chapter 10) or a brick from a wall (Chapter 5)…Garlic is an ambitious choice for an example since it seems so mundane, so much itself. You invent really good research questions, though, which get at the broader meanings and contexts of the garlic bulb. Any of these would make a fascinating essay. I think the one that matters most, from an American Studies perspective, is the last one: What links these questions? How might the chemical processes that produce bad breath get translated in cultural terms as a tale about garlic’s ability to ward off monsters? How did that translation happen? And what purposes does it serve? How does a simple, seemingly inert “scientific fact” take on weight and complexity when we put it in a story? Really interesting example.
LikeLike
Hello, I like the example you used with garlic. It took something simple and shows all the complexity that lies within trying to understand how multifaceted history can be. I particularly liked Clifford Geertz comment on how illuminating it can be to “blur genres” (Deloria and Olson 19). I thought that was simplistic way to describe how interdisciplinary study can equally remove limitations and broaden the scope of knowledge and resources available when trying to understand history.
LikeLike