Consortium Approach Unites Interdisciplinary CAS Family
Interdisciplinary programs in the UT College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) now have an administrative home within the newly launched Consortium on Social and Cultural Inquiry (CoSCI, pronounced “co-see”). CoSCI gathers these unique courses of study into a focused structure for UT students seeking to build valuable and diverse sets of skills.
“The 11 unique programs that constitute CoSCI are at the vanguard of social and cultural studies at UT, connected by a shared investment in interdisciplinary study and critical inquiry,” said Professor Patrick Grzanka, divisional dean for social sciences who also oversees CoSCI. “The faculty in these programs help their students develop the skills to ask the big questions and solve the important problems that cannot be answered or solved by a single discipline alone. They represent the best of what makes the College of Arts and Sciences a college on the rise.”
The interdisciplinary programs within CoSCI are:
- Linguistics
- Global Studies
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality (WGS)
- Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LAC)
- Middle East Studies (MEST)
- Medieval and Renaissance Studies (coordinated by MARCO)
- Jewish Studies
- Justice Studies (new, coordinated by the Appalachian Justice Research Center)
- Computational Social Science (new, coordinated by the Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity)
- Digital Humanities (new)
- Science, Technology, Health, and Society (new)
Collaborative Crossroads
These programs represent an exciting spectrum of intellectual work and training that calls upon the diverse expertise of CAS faculty.
“The coursework involved in these degree programs draws from multiple departments and multiple divisions of the college,” said Grzanka. “They’re taught mostly by faculty whose tenure homes or primary appointments are in any one of our departments and colleges and also some courses from across the campus.”
While interdisciplinary programs within the college have long been vibrant paths for students to experience unique perspectives in their course work, faculty members directing the programs have sought better communication of their efforts in order to build a stronger community and synergy across the programs—and make valuable connections for students.
“CoSCI is an answer to these needs,” said Grzanka. “It functions as the administrative home for the interdisciplinary programs, and they have support from the college that is designed specifically with their unique needs in mind.”
One such need is ensuring that students can connect to these programs and experience their value as major and minor paths of study.
“What’s really exciting about the 11 programs within CoSCI is that they all share this really interesting commitment to deeply interdisciplinary investigations of social, cultural, political, and economic issues across the planet, from the ancient past to the present and into the future,” said Grzanka. “These fields, many of which are rapidly emergent, represent the cutting edges of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. They probe complex problems that need multiple perspectives in order to solve them.”
Big Picture for the Future
Four new programs join the interdisciplinary program roster with the CoSCI structure: Justice Studies; Computational Social Sciences; Digital Humanities; and Science, Technology, Health, and Society.
Grzanka sees Justice Studies as a field that touches virtually every major within the college, addressing big-picture questions. Justice Studies is directed by Tyler Wall, associate professor in sociology, and supported by the work of the Appalachian Justice Research Center, which is co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Law.
“It encompasses how we think about the relationships between the physical sciences and social justice and how we think about the social sciences, humanities, and justice,” he said. “This exciting field compels us to consider how we ask questions raised by complex social problems, as well as how best to address these problems, including issues of injustice here in Tennessee and throughout the Appalachian region.”
Going Digital
The other three new programs are interrelated within a “digital futures” arena, with faculty chairs who bring fresh interdisciplinary perspectives—Hilary Havens, associate professor in English for Digital Humanities; Alex Bentley, professor in anthropology, for Computational Social Science; and Victor Petrov, associate professor in history, for Science, Technology, Health, and Society.
“They’re doing so much together, including an upcoming campus visit from a national leader in inclusive gaming, which is really exciting,” said Grzanka. “They’re all trained differently, but these programs sit at the nexus of their work, and they’re thinking foremost about reaching our students.”
CoSCI continues the tradition in the College of Arts and Sciences of fostering meaningful, consequential conversations across disciplines, fulfilling the mission of “One college, endless possibilities.”
“We have 11 fabulous programs—and more to come—that do just that,” said Grzanka. “The College of Arts and Sciences has always been an incubator of important interdisciplinary training.”
By Randall Brown