MAIS 601

Justine Banszky

Prof Derek Briton

September 22, 2022

A Theory of Interdisciplinary Studies by William H. Newell: A Reading Response by Justine Nicole Banszky

Before reading Newell’s article on interdisciplinary theories, I understood interdisciplinary studies to mean a few things. Firstly, interdisciplinary studies are invaluable. We do not know or understand the depth that interdisciplinary studies can enhance knowledge and communication. Secondly, I understood interdisciplinary studies to be useful in understanding bigger questions, or as Newell calls them “complex systems.” After reading the article my understanding of it is much the same. However, through reading the article I have come to have a deeper understanding of what complexity means to myself, and how complexity is objective. For Newell, complexity is different from a feedback loop, whereas for me I see them as one and the same. Newell says that “a complicated system loosely links together simple systems using linear relationships.” (8) However, is that not just life? Each person linking together simple systems to find the best way to go about living? Complexity is not something we get to label equally for each person, or question. A pencil when first examined is not very complex. It is a simple writing instrument and would not be considered a complex system. However, to a person that wants to understand the history of the pence, how they work, why there were made, how can we mechanically improve the design, is it better for children to use a pencil instead of a pen, what does the lack of permanence mean to the user, they would need to consult many different disciplines to fully understand a pencil. Now, not everyone would want to study a pencil! So, to a person like me, a pencil is a simple object that sits on my desk and allows me to draw and take notes. I think nothing of it from there. Complexity is objective and we can make anything as complex or simple as we so chose.

Interdisciplinary studies are very important to me, and it is the main reason behind my choosing Athabasca University for my M.A. I love literature, history, and culture, but mostly I love how they all fit together as one. You cannot have literature without culture, and you cannot have culture without history. Books, and the stories we fill our world with, require, in my opinion, interdisciplinary study to fully understand them. Our world is a complex system, forever connected in a web of never-ending change and opportunity. I believe that interdisciplinary studies should be adopted by everyone, and if that were done then we would have more compassion in our world. We would have more answers and more questions that would each propel our society forward. By reading this article, and others for this course, my belief in interdisciplinary studies has only solidified further, and my understanding of its possibilities enhanced.

Work Cited

Newell, William H. “A Theory of Interdisciplinary Studies.” Issues in Integrative Studies,

2001, pp 1-25.