Research In-between: The Constitutive Role of Cultural Differences in Transdisciplinarity

Abstract

T ransdisciplinary research can be considered an integrative practice that is grounded in difference. It emerges as in-between space established among societal domains, different ways of knowing, acting and being, and constitutes a new topos in the landscape of societal institutions. We argue that it is through difference that transdisciplinary research spaces are created and elaborate on the characteristics of these in-between spaces. We provide insights into theoretical considerations of the constitution of transdisciplinary research spaces and show how cultural differences, determined by existing power relations and hegemonies, can be brought into fruition. Our aim is to contribute to theoretical considerations of a concept of research that is not reduced to academic research only but considered a cultural practice of people at stake to better understand and transform situations or phenomena of shared interest.

Stories of Favourite Places in Public Spaces: Emotional Responses to Landscape Change

“…Our study was based on a close collaboration between an artist and an academic researcher on the topic of favourite places in public spaces. The art form used by the artist was social land art which sees itself as a link between art, society and science and entails a strong notion of participation [21]. The process of data collection was based on previous art workshops conducted by the artist.…”

“…Our study was part of a transdisciplinary collaboration [21] with the artecology_network, a German-wide collective of artists. In the district of Oldenburg, the involved artists seek to create awareness and possible solutions for land-use and nature conservation through close interaction with local actors.…”

“…Against this background, in this paper, we explore issues of landscape change and people's emotional responses towards it through engaging with art-based research called social land art within a transdisciplinary case study [20] in the district of Oldenburg, Germany. Social land art links art, society and science and builds on a strong notion of participation [21,22] that in this study was fostered through intensive workshop settings that included discussion and the creation of art itself.…”

Challenges and Strategies in Place-Based Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration for Sustainability: Learning from Experiences in the Global South

“…In these transdisciplinary processes, in which stakeholders jointly define the research problem to be addressed, incorporate their diverse perspectives in co-produced solution-oriented knowledge, and put this new knowledge into societal and scientific practice [20][21][22], MSC is always present. For the purpose of this work, we focus on collaboration between diverse stakeholders and the factors that hinder such collective work, in which different logics, values, interests, and knowledge systems need to converge [23][24][25].…”

A Social Machine for Transdisciplinary Research

“…Succinctly stated, the main qualities of transdisciplinarity include the following: (a) focus on socially relevant issues, (b) aim for a creative synthesis of disciplinary perspectives, (c) make research participatory and inclusive, and (d) pursue a unity of knowledge (Pohl, 2010). Consistent with this perspective, transdisciplinarity asserts that no one discipline sits in a privileged position for meeting the many problems and threats facing humanity (Vilsmaier, Brandner, & Engbers, 2017).…”