Integrating Interdisciplinarity and Environmental Awareness in Teaching
Summary
Nick believes that “all significant questions and problems worth our time are interdisciplinary by their very nature”, and this is nowhere more apparent than when confronting environmental issues. It is not a question of choosing to be interdisciplinary; the complexity and urgency of issues such as climate breakdown and the nature crisis need to be addressed by every branch of learning. This should in turn inspire fresh approaches to how we construct syllabi, understand the challenges of teaching, and draw on the resources within our institutions.
In this case study, he shares his approach to interdisciplinary practice in his modules on literature, environment, and ecology, discussing the importance of breaking away from traditional models of assessment in order to encompass a wider variety of learning outcomes. Designing individual field trips and producing group video essays help students gain a better understanding of module objectives, while introducing them to site-specific research, multimedia applications and collaborative methods of working. Nick also highlights the benefits of inviting colleagues from other departments to share their expertise in classroom discussion. To fully embrace interdisciplinary opportunities, he suggests, we need to identify areas of debate that enable participants from various backgrounds to develop common vocabularies and agendas. Getting out of our comfort zones and challenging ourselves as tutors and students will help us learn and apply concepts from other fields to our own.
Students Say
Undergraduates taking Literature, Environment, Ecology are often surprised to find that, despite coming from an English background, they are invited to incorporate scientific and ecological research alongside their readings of literary texts. This exposure has subsequently inspired some of them to pursue a master’s degree in environmental studies and policy. Nick adds, “I welcome it when students start out in English and then decide that they want to go into Environmental Studies, since they carry the seed of that initial inspiration with them from the reading that we do.”
Dr. Nicholas Lawrence
Associate Professor, English Literature and Comparative Literary Studies Department
Nick teaches literature, environment, ecology, critical theory, and cultural studies modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. A founding member of Warwick’s Environmental Humanities Network, he convenes the MA in Environmental Humanities in the Department of English & Comparative Literary Studies. Originally trained in American literature, since coming to Warwick he has joined the Warwick Research Collective in examining the world-systemic challenges to national traditions and ideologies in literary scholarship. His primary research encompasses environmental approaches to world-literary studies, poetic modernism, Marxism and Frankfurt School critical theory, and debates around the Anthropocene. Current projects include a survey of world literature in the Anthropocene, and a study of sacrifice zones in relation to world ecology.
See Nick’s full bio here.
Highlights
“All significant questions and problems worth our time are interdisciplinary by their very nature.”
“The interdisciplinary aspect of the environmental humanities entails studying the full range of histories and relationships within ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole, drawing on a variety of methodologies and theoretical frameworks, including literary and cultural ones.”
To think in interdisciplinarity terms, it helps to situate your work as that of an “architect who brings together a mix of expertise from different disciplines, all of which can help us see a defined field from different standpoints.”
Further Resources
Curious to learn more?
Please find information on Nick’s modules, further insights and recommendations below:
- Undergraduate modules
- Postgraduate modules
You can also contact Nick at: n.lawrence@warwick.ac.uk