Liberating Interdisciplinarity From Myth: An Exploration of the Discursive Construction of Identities in Information Studies

摘要

Recent research in information studies suggests that the traditjon of seeing the discipline as weak is still alive and kicking. This is a problem because the discourse of the weak discipline creates conceptual confusion in relation to interdisciplinarity. Considering the growth of the iSchools and what is assumed to be a major institutional redrawing of boundaries, there is a pressing need, to conceptualize interdisciplinary practices and boundary work. This paper explores the "weak" discipline through a discourse analytical lens arid identifies a myth. Perceiving the discipline as weak is part of a myth, fueled by the ideal of a. unitary discipline; the ideal discipline has strong.boundaries, and as long as the discourse continues to focus on a need for boundaries, the only available discourse is one that articulates the discipline as weak. Thus, the myth is a vicious circle that can be broken if weakness is no longer ascribed to the discipline by tradition. The paper offers an explanation of the workings of the myth so that its particular way of interpreting the world does not mislead us when theorizing interdisciplinarity. this is a conceptual paper, and the examples serve as an empirical backdrop to the conceptual argument.