Seventeenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

The frequent rise and fall of interdisciplinary education trends encourages an inquiry into our fascination with integrating disciplines into shared spaces. With Leonardo da Vinci as our poster child for the holistic thinker, we are challenged to ask if the magnitude of his ideas was inevitable regardless of his disciplinary leanings, or if the fluidity of disciplines was fundamental to his success. My own research and experiences suggest that the liminal space created by interweaving seemingly separate disciplines is where our intellectual endeavors become tools for problem solving and innovation. Engineering education and the rise of a da Vinci-esque renaissance engineer are perhaps the most obvious areas where interdisciplinarity toward these ends is most obvious. However, the arts and humanities also gain valuable applicability when combined with elements of STEM. This focused discussion is a critical inquiry into the promises, difficulties, successes, and failures of interdisciplinary education with an eye towards its future.