Postdisciplinary Knowledge

by Tomas Pernecky (Editor)

Postdisciplinary Knowledge is the first book to articulate postdisciplinarity in philosophical, theoretical and methodological terms, helping to establish it as an important intellectual movement of the twenty-first century. It formulates what postdisciplinarity is, and how it can be implemented in research practice. The diverse chapters present a rich collection of highly creative thought-provoking essays and methodological insights. Written by a number of pioneering intellectuals with a range of backgrounds and research foci, these chapters cover a broad spectrum of areas demonstrating alternative ways of producing knowledge. Essays are interspersed with dialogue, encouraging a comprehensive and engaging discussion on this emerging movement. Not limited to a specific field or discipline, this will be of great interest to upper-level students and researchers in a wide range of subject areas, tourism, sociology, education, psychology, physiotherapy, fine arts, architecture and design, as well as those with a general interest in epistemology and methodology.

Genres: Art

276 pages, Paperback

Published June 13, 2022

Reviews

[Philippe · Rating 5 out of 5]

For ages people have been talking about inter- and multidisciplinarity. Lately the proponents of trans-disciplinarity have been beating their drums. And justifiably so. It shows that something is wrong with the siloed logic of contemporary research and knowledge production. Post- looks like yet an other variation on the theme. But it really is another ball-game. The stakes raised by the post-disciplinarians go beyond the 'saving of the appearances' of the disciplinary orthodoxy. I would say that they turn knowledge production into an art, in the sense that their efforts are governed by an ethos of disobedience, beauty, and existential density. Indeed, artists have been the post-disciplinarians par excellence, long before the term was coined. But is it possible to de-cloister this practice and expand its reach into mainstream academia? I certainly hope so. Although we have to recognise that today the reverse threatens to happen, namely that 'artistic research' is forced into the mould of what is labeled in officialese as 'excellence' and 'impact'-oriented research. And yet, a post-disciplinary practice may have something to offer that mainstream reductionism does not: a powerful story. Which is the subtext of this collection of essays. Because they are heartening, stirring to read. This is about being alive, about enlivening, while engaging with the perplexing richness of life on earth. This is, in Nietzschean terms, a 'cheerful science' that makes us stronger, more generous and more compassionate rather than more calculating, fearful, and tired. Isn't this what we need, now, in this most peculiar timeframe, in which humanity is struggling to find a way forward into a potentially very threatening Anthropocene? Mainstream academia will not spawn a new Renaissance. If at all, a transvaluation of all values will emerge out of the crevices of a wayward, disobedient post-disciplinary practice. I'm betting my own personal and professional future on this. This book has strengthened my resolve to relinquish the self-image of 'knowledge worker (bee)' and to become a 'cheerful scientist' with a self-granted mandate to create spaces where life is able to unfold as life wherever I can. I trust that this, in all kinds of fathomable and unfathomable ways, will constitute a tiny but meaningful contribution to better life on earth. My appreciation to Tomas Pernecky for giving his co-trans-disciplinarians an eloquent voice.