UNIV 301: Interdisciplinary Foundations

Professor: Dr. Marcie Walsh

Contact: walshmj2@vcu.edu
Office: 818 W. Broad Street (The Interdisciplinary Studies Offices)
Office Hours:
Tuesdays 9:45 – 10:45 a.m.; Wednesdays 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.; Thursdays 2:00 – 3:00 p.m., and
by appointment

“Interdisciplinary studies is a process of answering a question, solving a problem, or addressing a topic

that is too broad or complex to be dealt with adequately by a single discipline or profession…. [It] draws
on disciplinary perspectives and integrates their insights through the construction of a more
comprehensive perspective.”
- Julie Thompson Klein and William H. Newell
“Advancing Interdisciplinary Studies,” 1997.

Course Description:
This course will introduce you to the integrative intellectual pursuit that is interdisciplinary studies. By
declaring yourself as an Interdisciplinary Studies student, you have chosen to pursue a challenging and
highly individualized scholarly route that requires an especially proactive, deliberate approach to your
studies. Over the coming semester, you will work with your classmates and professor to build a clear
understanding of the work of interdisciplinary study and scholarship, hone your academic goals as an
interdisciplinary scholar, and lay out a path forward that serves and actively advances your career
and/or intellectual aspirations. Together over the next fifteen weeks we will work to assure that you are
building both the personal awareness and the intellectual tools required to succeed on this path.

Learning Outcomes:
By the conclusion of this class, students will be able to:
1. Communicate the framing questions, theories, and objects of study in their focus disciplines
2. Articulate the ways in which different disciplines in their plan of study complement each other
and help them understand diverse perspectives and deep approaches to problem solving
3. Reflect on their achievements as an interdisciplinary studies major and the intellectual
knowledge and skills they have acquired and developed
4. Analyze a text through an interdisciplinary lens
5. Develop an understanding of how diversity and inclusion are relevant to their specific,
individually-designed focus areas
6. Demonstrate how they will build on their achievements and skills during the rest of their
undergraduate career
Required texts:
● Repko, Szostak, and Buchberger: Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies, 2nd Ed. Los Angeles:
Sage Publications, 2017.
● Desmond, Matthew: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. New York: Broadway Books,
2016.

Course Grading:
There are a total of 200 points available to you this semester. The final grade you earn for the semester
is calculated solely on the total number of points you’ve earned on all of the assignments you’ve
submitted. Please refer to the Late Assignments description under Course Policies for the policy on late
submissions.

Each graded assignment, along with point values and grading rubrics (when applicable), will be available
on Bb under the “Assignments” tab. Please submit all assignments through Bb unless otherwise
instructed. A detailed schedule of activities and homework assignments (unit overviews) will be
provided for each of the three units, and will be posted on Bb under Course Documents. The course
grade is determined based on the following points distribution:
Weight of course components in final grade:
• Unit Projects: up to 120 points (20% of course grade)
• Other Course Work: up to 40 points (20% of course grade)
• Attendance and Participation: up to 40 points (20% of course grade)
o Attendance: 10%
§ See Attendance Grading Scale in “Course Policies” section below
o Participation: 10%

Final Grade Calculations:

180 - 200 points = A
160 - 179 points = B
140 - 159 points = C
120 - 139 points = D
< 119 = F

Course Policies:
Attendance: A significant part of the grade for this course is based on work that is done in class.
Additionally, class time is often devoted to collectively generating ideas and giving feedback. For these
reasons, punctuality and attendance are very important for success in the class. If you must miss class,
please let me know as soon in advance as possible. Late arrivals (aka, tardies) are recorded. Every three
tardies will be counted as one absence. Students who arrive more than 15 minutes late to class will be
counted as absent.

Missing one class is equivalent to missing an entire week of classes, therefore it is imperative that you
make every effort to attend each class.

Attendance points for the semester are calculated as follows:

 Attendance Scoring
0 – 1 absence – 20/20 points
2 absences – 18/20 points
3 absences – 16/20 points
4 absences – 14/20 points
5 absences – 12/20 points
> 5 absences results in failure of the course,
unless student can demonstrate extenuating
circumstances

Participation and Engagement:

Just attending class will not be sufficient for successful completion of this class. Students are also
expected to actively engage in class assignments, discussions, and activities on a regular basis.
Engagement and participation is also expected to demonstrate that all readings and/or homework
assignments have been completed in a thoughtful and thorough manner.

Scoring for class participation and engagement is as follows:

Participation and Engagement Scoring:

● Daily active and authentic engagement in discussions and classwork
that regularly contribute to the class in meaningful ways - 20 points
● Frequent engagement in discussions and classwork that often
contributes to the class in meaningful ways - 16 points
● Infrequent participation in discussions but active engagement in
classwork in a manner that demonstrates effort to apply class content -
14 points
● Infrequent engagement in both discussions and classwork – 10 points
● Little to no engagement in discussions and classwork - 0 points

Late Assignments: Any assignments that aren’t submitted are assigned a zero. Late assignments are
only accepted if you have made alternate arrangements with me, prior to the due date for the
assignment in question. Not starting assignments in a timely manner or poor time management are not
acceptable reasons for late submissions. Deadline extensions are granted on a case-by-case basis.

Tech Support: It is the students’ responsibility to ensure they maintain proper technology hardware and
software updates to access Blackboard and Google Drive, and to seek the resources necessary to enable
effective use of our communication tools. Please note: technology issues are not acceptable excuses for
failing to turn an assignment in on time, or in the required form. If you encounter technical problems on
Blackboard, the following are possible strategies for troubleshooting:
1. Clear your internet cache;
2. Try a different browser;
3. Restart your computer;
4. Try a different computer.
Otherwise, please make use of Blackboard tutorials (http://help.blackboard.com/) and/or contact VCU’s
IT help desk (828-2227, http://www.ts.vcu.edu/helpit-center/) should you encounter technical
difficulties. To reiterate, technical difficulties are not an acceptable excuse for late work.

Required format for written assignments: Written assignments should conform to the following
specifications. You may need to adjust default software settings to adhere to these requirements:
● Times New Roman or Calibri or Arial, 12 point;
● Margins: 1 inch, left and right, top and bottom;
● Justification: left margin only;
● Line spacing: double-spaced.
● Print: dark, and on one side of the page
● Grammatical accuracy
● Graphics: in an appendix only
● Documentation: choose MLA or APA, as appropriate for your interdisciplinary approach (when in
doubt, use MLA style), and be consistent. See the University College’s VCU Writes! site for
resources: https://rampages.us/vcuwrites/

University Policies: VCU’s full university policies are available online through the Provost’s office. Topics
include:
1. Campus emergency information
2. Class registration required for attendance
3. Honor System: upholding academic integrity
4. Important dates
5. Managing stress
6. Mandatory responsibility of faculty members to report incidents of sexual misconduct
7. Military short-term training or deployment
8. Student conduct in the classroom
9. Student email policy
10. Student financial responsibility
11. Students representing the university - excused absences
12. Students with disabilities
13. Withdrawal from classes
Course Schedule

This 15-week course is divided into three units, with a major project due at the end of each. The dates
below are tentative. All assignment descriptions, deadlines, and readings will be posted on Blackboard
throughout the course of the semester. The following is a broad outline of the work ahead.

Unit 1: Understanding “interdisciplinarity” and my interdisciplinary field: Weeks 1-6

● Topics:
○ What is interdisciplinarity? And, what is disciplinarity, multi-, and trans-?
○ What are your disciplines, and how do they seek to understand the world?
○ How can you connect those perspectives?
● Major projects (assignment sheets will be posted on Blackboard at the appropriate time):
○ In the Unit I project, you will define your disciplines, and map the connections you see
between your disciplines. This work will be framed with an explanation of your
understanding of interdisciplinarity.
○ Group presentation on a chapter in our textbook - please note, these presentations will
start in Unit 1, but will continue into Units 2 and 3.

Unit 2: The path to interdisciplinarity: from motivation to integration: Weeks 7-11

● Topics:
○ How did you become an interdisciplinarian?
○ How are values, insights, and worldviews reflected in - and served by - our disciplinary
choices?
○ How do we integrate our disciplines effectively?
● Major projects (assignment sheets will be posted on Blackboard at the appropriate time):
○ In the Unit II project, you will explain your motivation for choosing your
interdisciplinary field. How did you become an interdisciplinarian? What are your
values? What is your worldview? What unique skills do you bring to your field?
○ As we make our way through Evicted, students will be expected to write a reflective
paper examining the book from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Unit 3: Interdisciplinary applications: Weeks 12-15

● Topics:
○ How do your disciplines intersect?
○ What does interdisciplinarity look like in the world outside of academia?
○ How can interdisciplinarity serve as an effective problem solving apparatus?
● Major projects (assignment sheets will be posted on Blackboard at the appropriate time):
○ In the Unit IV project, you will explain what you hope to do with the knowledge you will
gain from your focus area classes. What problem(s) do you hope to solve? And how
 have your understandings of the connections between your disciplines evolved over
the course of the semester?
○ In this unit, you will also create an ePortfolio shell and begin adding elements to it. The
ePortfolio will be refined and expanded throughout your time in the Interdisciplinary
Studies Program’s courses.