2022-2023 Undergraduate Bulletin

Interdisciplinary Studies Minor

Description. The field of Interdisciplinary Studies recognizes that we live in a complex and interrelated world.  This minor introduces students to the practices of interdisciplinarity:  using critical methods and bodies of knowledge from multiple disciplines to understand real-world issues and problems. A sophisticated comprehension of serious topics – such as sexual violence, mass incarceration, poverty, racial and economic inequality, environmental degradation, technological change, epidemics, or global migration, for example – requires analysis of dimensions that include the cultural, historical, political, psychological, social, gender, and economic. Through a pedagogy centered on active learning, students in the Minor in Interdisciplinary Studies develop critical thinking and analytical skills that prepare them to tackle the difficult topics and advanced work required in law and graduate schools and high-level careers.

Learning outcomes. Students will:

• Read, write, and communicate orally in response to a wide variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary texts.
• Analyze and synthesize ideas and information from multiple disciplinary sources and perspectives.
• Identify, articulate, and reflect upon theoretical and methodological differences among disciplines across the arts, humanities, and sciences.
• Select and apply appropriate tools from two or more disciplines to significant questions, issues, or problems that would benefit from interdisciplinary analysis.
• Construct knowledge together and collaborate effectively and respectfully.

Credits required. 18

Minor coordinator. Professor Richard Haw, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies (212.237.8076, rhaw@jjay.cuny.edu).

Advisor. Adriana Perez, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies (212.237.8459, aperez@jjay.cuny.edu). 

Experiential learning opportunities. The Interdisciplinary Studies courses are rooted in experiential learning where students engage in interactive classroom exercises, independent research projects, fieldtrips and service and learning opportunities that transcend the classroom.  Students should anticipate being engaged, enlivened and compelled to be active participants in their learning experiences. In recent years, first year students have taken several field trips around NYC and visited the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.  Students have conducted community-based surveys of food deserts, voting patterns, and have created self-guided tours of major museums, landmarks, and historic neighborhoods.  Students have opportunities to interact with guest speakers and performers and pursue internships integrating academics and action with the Vera Institute of Justice, state and city elected officials, and social justice organizations.

Requirements. The minor in Interdisciplinary Studies requires a total of 18 credits of which 3 credits are required and 15 credits are electives.  A maximum of two courses can overlap with a student’s major, other minor or program.

Part One. Required Courses

ISP 101Seeking the City: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on New York

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Two. Electives

Select five ISP courses. At least one course must be at the 300-level or above. Only one 100-level course may be applied to the minor electives.

Select zero or only one 100-level course
ISP 100Justice: Who's In, Who's Out

3

ISP 110When Nature Roars: Global Catastrophe & Human Responsibility

3

ISP 112Going Places: Travel & Transformation

3

ISP 115Voices of Migration: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Global Movement

3

ISP 122"Those" People: Stereotypes in U.S.A.

3

ISP 125You Are What You Eat: Food & Culture in the U.S.

3

ISP 130Creative Movements: How, When and Why They Happen

3

ISP 132Monsters and What They Mean

3

ISP 134Imagining Other Worlds

3

ISP 140Murder: Historical and Cultural Perspectives

3

ISP 145Why Gender Matters

3

ISP 147Life Stories

3

ISP 160The Twentieth Century: A Decade in Depth

3

ISP 171Ripped from the Headlines: Art from Current Events

3

Select four or five courses. At least one must be at the 300-level or above.
ISP 211Revolutions

3

ISP 215Colorism: A Global Perspective on Colonial Violence

3

ISP 224Constructions of Difference in the U.S.A.

3

ISP 226White Supremacy: Constructions of Race and Institutionalized Racism

3

ISP 235Apples & Oranges: Form & Meaning in the Arts

3

ISP 236Truth & Creativity: How We Make Meaning

3

ISP 237Laughing at Ourselves: Comedy and Identity

3

ISP 242Stuff: An Investigation into the Meaning of Things

3

ISP 246Forbidden Love: Cultural and Social Perspectives

3

ISP 248Getting Even: Forgiveness and Revenge

3

ISP 255Technology and Culture

3

ISP 264Remembering & Forgetting in Public & Private

3

ISP 265Evolution and Its Impact

3

ISP 273The Stories We Tell

3

ISP 277Experiential Learning in Social Justice: Field Preparation

3

ISP 321Moral, Legal and Ethical Dilemmas that Shape the U.S.A.

3

ISP 322Making Waves: Troublemakers, Gadflies and Whistleblowers

3

ISP 334Sex, Gender and Justice in Global Perspective

3

ISP 335Violence in the Pursuit of Justice

3

ISP 336Just Intentions: Global Humanitarianism

3

ISP 380Selected Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies

3

ISP 385Faculty Mentored Research Experience in Interdisciplinary Studies

3

Total Credit Hours: 15

Students can also apply ISP 289, ISP 389, and/or ISP 489 to Part Two of the Minor.  The Vera Fellowship courses or the ISP internship can also apply to Part Two electives.

Total Credit Hours: 18