Exploring Interdisciplinarity

Do you remember this song? I do. We sang it every year in my grammar school assemblies. It encapsulates all that I love, and remember, about Thanksgiving. In fact, my memories of Thanksgivings are not so different from the dinner scene portrayed by Dylan Thomas in his story, A Child’s Christmas in Whales, especially as it is narrated by Aubrey Davis at the annual Celtic Christmas Concert.

Perusing google to gather some background about the holiday, I was disturbed to find that not everyone feels as I do. In fact, some posts seem to have deliberately set out to debunk–one by one–all of the stories that, over the years, have come to constitute the lore of Thanksgiving. Surely, facts are important. But history–as Fernand Braudel might be the first to point out–is a living, on-going process.

the original Thanksgiving Story might best be conceived as a well fertilized seed kernel that has evolved and by hybridized over time in the course of our history.

Accordingly , the original Thanksgiving Story might best be conceived as a well fertilized seed kernel that has evolved and been hybridized over time throughout the course of our history–a point that sociologist, Edward Shils, has emphasized in his book Tradition. From this perspective, we can understand how, today, the Thanksgiving holiday has become a truly American legend, incorporating and embracing many diverse groups which–each in their own ways, and according to their own traditions–celebrate the essence of the tale–thankfulness, generosity, family, openness, and kindness towards others.

Beginning on Wednesday, my husband and I began to reenact our own Thanksgiving traditions. I had taken the day off so as to have time to clean the house, do baking, polish silverware, and cut and prepare a wonderful assortment of root vegetables in advance of the big day.

Next morning, we arose early, giving us time to carry out our own annual rituals. To begin, we reread the section on cooking poultry in our well-worn, and seasoned, cookbook The Joy of Cooking, just to be sure that we avoided the many pitfalls my mother had so emphatically warned me about in my youth, as I helped her prepare Thanksgiving dinner. Then, with the turkey stuffed, and well wedged into the oven, we set out, with our dog Sparky, for our traditional hike in Rock Creek Park. The sun was out, the air was crisp, and everyone we met along the way was full of smiles, greeting us with “Have a nice Thanksgiving!”. We arrived back home, just in time to lay the table, put out the ordeurves, call our absent family members, and have a glass of wine before the guests arrived. They were a diverse and enthusiastic group, and together we made merry. Even Sparky joined in the fun.

Of course, not all Thanksgivings are without their mishaps. Most memorable to me was the year that my in-laws and their relatives joined in the festivities. The plates were laid, the food was on the table, and we were about to say thanks when the structure supporting the table came out of place. It was only the strong knees and will of our guests that kept my grandmother’s Limoges china–not to mention the turkey dinner–from falling on the floor. Then again I shouldn’t forget the year I put the turnip skins down the garbage disposal, only to have them erupt some hours later, together with–to my horror–a lot of other extraneous materials.

This year, on Thanksgiving, I believe that we have something to be especially grateful for–the election of Barack Obama for President. In fact, just as in the true meaning of Thanksgiving, doesn’t Obama epitomize, and in many of the same ways, the very best of America? As they say at the end of services in the Episcopalian Church, “Thanks be to God!.”

On Technorati: Aubrey Davis, Celtic Christmas Concert, Dylan Thomas, lore, myth, Obama, Thanksgiving, tradition

I have often heard tell that my husband, Brock Evans, is a legendary person, but then seeing is believing.

I have often heard tell that my husband, Brock Evans, is a legendary person, but then again seeing is believing. Last week, I saw for myself.

The event was The Endangered Species Coalition annual awards reception. As President of the Endangered Species Coalition, Brock’s ostensible role at this function was to present the Brock Evans Award to the renowned environmental leader Rodger Schlickeisen, President and CEO of the prominent national environmental organization, Defenders of Wildlife, and prime architect of the conservation’s movement’s greatest electoral victory–the defeat of arch enemy and far right anti-environmental Congressman Richard Pombo in 2006.

Unbeknownst to Brock, he himself was to receive an award from the Wilburforce Foundation for “outstanding conservation leadership.” Included was a substantial cash award, which he hopes to use to complete the research for his forthcoming book, making real the legends of the environmental movement–what he describes as the stunning achievements of ordinary people who rose up to defend the places they love. The result of all of these efforts over the past forty years, Brock says, is a beautiful legacy of over two hundred million acres of parks, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges, which are the envy of the rest of the world.

Watching Brock receive this award, I remembered how much his tales about environmental victories had meant to me, personally. In fact, what I recall most about our courtship are the accounts that he would regale me with, inspiring me to strive for the ‘gold ring.’ Take, for example, the stories Brock often tells about the rescue of the mighty Snake River from dams, and the equally compelling account of protecting the valley of French Pete Creek, in the state of Oregon, from clear-cut logging. In both cases, the destruction of these places seemed to be a foregone conclusion. But Brock and his friends pushed back anyway, applying the techniques of what he calls endless pressure, endlessly applied. Notwithstanding the gloomy predictions of the pundits, they won! Both places are now federally protected wilderness areas.

So when I get discouraged, and think all is lost, I keep these stories in mind, and just press forward. I know that, when Brock completes his book, these same stories will inspire a whole new generation of environmentalists as well.

On Technorati: Brock Evans, Defenders of Wildlife, Endangered Species Coalition, French Pete Creek, legends, Roger Schlickeisen, Snake River, Three Sisters Wilderness Area

Today is a good day to blog. Outside the weather is gray, dank, and windy; time to stay close to the Hearth. Even more compelling, I am laying in bed, my dog Sparky at my side, nursing a wicked cold that the man, sitting in front of me on the plane coming back from Hungary, generously bestowed on me. Alternating between conscious and semi-conscious states, I have been day dreaming about the presentation I made in Budapest at the Central European University, entitled Complexity and the University of the Future .

In particular, I have been thinking about how I might extend my analysis by building on the readings that I had assigned for my Wednesday and Thursday classes. These include Michael Storper’s and Andres Rodriguez-Pose‘s paper Better Rules or Stronger Communities? On the Social Foundations of Institutional Change and Its Economic Effects ( Economic Geography 82 (1); 1-25, 2006) as well as Chicago University law professor Cass Sustein’s Infotopia (2006).

Just as other organizations must adapt to their rapidly changing complex environments, so too must universities.

My original presentation drew upon evolutionary and complexity theory (draft paper forthcoming). It argued that, just as other organizations must adapt to their changing complex environments, so too must universities. As Rogers 1995, Uzzi 2006; Burt 2005; and Beinhocker 2007 might argue, one way of facing this challenge is to transcend existing university boundaries, both internal as well as external, so as to internalize complexity and thereby generate new, and hopefully more adaptive, ideas. This strategy might be problematic in a university setting, however. For universities adapted so well to the changing environment of the industrial age–which called for bureaucratic hierarchies as well as specialization and the division of labor–that their ivory tower culture and their disciplinary silos might have become locked-in over time. As Douglass North has emphasized, just like network technologies, organizations and institutions experience positive externalities and increasing returns, so they tend to become path dependent.

Sustein’s and Storper’s works raise questions about how such change might take place. Although these authors stem from very different disciplinary backgrounds, they both focus on governance, leading me to ask whether or not university governance structures will facilitate or retard adaptive behavior.

leading me to ask whether or not university governance structures will facilitate or retard adaptive behavior.

Recall that universities are, to a large extent, self-governed through processes of deliberation. But, according to Sustein, deliberation only works in keeping with democratic theorists’ analyses (such as those of Aristotle, Rawls and Habermas) under very particular circumstances. Specifically, for decision making groups to effectively aggregate diverse sources of information and transform them into good ideas, these bodies must be comprised of an accurate representation of people who are relatively equal in terms of status and power, and who adhere to norms that encourage open discussion and information sharing. When such is not the case, lower status individuals are likely to either be reticent or defer to their superiors. As a result, deliberative outcomes will be narrowly conceived, rash, biased, and polarizing.

One must wonder, then, how decisions will unfold in a university context, where benefits and rewards are allocated to a large extent on the basis of rank in a hierarchy of roles

One must wonder, then, how decisions will unfold in a university context, where benefits and rewards are allocated to a large extent on the basis of rank in a hierarchy of roles. Storper and Rodriguez-Pose suggest one possible way of assuring more positive deliberative outcomes, which might well apply in the case of universities. In their article looking at how societal institutions constrain community-based groups and vice versa, the authors argue that communities and societal institutions are complementary rather than antagonistic. In fact, when well conceived, formal institutions and societal norms can serve to inhibit–if not prevent–the type of co-optation of deliberative bodies by influential and powerful members as described by Sustein in Infotopia. In the university realm, the most powerful, influential actors are likely to be deeply embedded in its established culture, and so favor the status quo. Thus, if adaptation is to be successful, and Storper is correct, change will need to be inspired, not only by pressure from the outside, but also–and as importantly–from leadership at the highest level that formally determines the institutional rules of the game–that is to say, the procedures and processes by and through which university deliberative bodies operate.

Our CCT Program is presently undergoing a process of self reflection. We are actually considering the question of ‘What do we want to look like in the future?” With Storper, Rodriguez-Pose, and Sustein in mind, I will not only be participating actively in this process but also–along with my dog Sparky–be thinking about it from an analytical perspective as well.

On Technorati: Andres Rodriguez, Cass Sustein, deliberation, deliberative bodies, democratic theory, economic geography, Higher Education, Infomedia, Michael Storper, the CCT Program, university governance

Today, election day, everyone is watching for updates on news about the election. I clearly understand. Never before has so much been at stake! Having voted early, my husband, Brock Evans, and I were poised to leave for a trip to Central Europe late yesterday afternoon. However, unintended consequences got in the way! So while others are watching the polls, my focus is targeted on the latest news about open seats on Austrian Airlines.

How, you might ask, did this happen? Well, nursing two martini’s back at home, my Husband described it best to our travel agent, Steve Dalghren:

Hi Steve. By now perhaps John has updated you re the Perils and Peregrinations of Brock and Linda. He was very helpful in your absence, especially after that fiasco when–all early and bright, and packed and ready–I handed in my old expired passport, not my current one (hey, what’s the big deal; they are all the same color aren’t they?)

Still packed and ready to go, we will set out for the airport again this afternoon. Ojala! if all goes well, we will land in Vienna early in the morning, just in time for me to make my meeting at the Austrian Academy Science. I have been honored to have been selected as a member of their Institute for Technology Assessment. Looking over the agenda, and viewing complex topics such as those we use to analyze at the US Office of technology Assessment, I am nostalgic for the old days but at the same time I am very eager to participate in the Austrian venture–keeping the idea alive so to speak.

From Austria we go to Prague where we meet an old friend and ardent environmentalist Maria Hudakova. Working out of Slovakia, she heads an organization called VLK, which is dedicated to preserving wolves and their forest environments. Any wolf lover should check out the site, which is in the process of being translated into English.

From Prague on to Budapest, the final leg of our trip. In Budapest, where I have never been before, we will visit Central European University. This is a great opportunity not only for me, but also the Communication Culture and Technology Program. CEU has a program such as ours, and I will speak there about The Future of the University, a topic that has been on my mind these last few weeks, given the tremendous stresses of the financial crisis.

So much to anticipate; so much excitement! No wonder why we took the wrong passport. But today we have made a check list, checked it off, and now await the airport taxi. If all goes well, I will have much to report in about a week!

On Technorati: Austrian Academy of Science, Austrian Institute for Technology Assessment, Central European University, Culture and Technology Program, Linda Garcia, Maria Hudakova, the Communication, VLK