Biologists want to claim the human body as a mass of tissue and organs to dissect and categorize. Psychologists want to unspool the mangled mess of the human mind and see what makes it tick. English students want to riddle through symbols hidden in novels that define character’s humanity and exemplify the human condition. In Interdisciplinarity, Moran details the trajectory of homosexuality through the gauntlet of contesting disciplines.
Unlike other subjects which can be easily grouped into disciplines, sexuality sits in the cross section of biology, psychology and the humanities in general. When Moran states that “the notion of sexuality as a cultural concept…rather than a natural given…is what makes queer theory interdisciplinary”, he is already pulling together the disciplines of biology and sociology in just one sentence.
The controversial nature of sexuality is what makes it such an attractive area for the disciplines to claim, pulling out the best and worst from all corners of the academic spectrum from the biologist to the theologist. However, the same interest in homosexuality may have contributed to its unfair demonization. Quoting Michel Foucault, following the modern trend towards discovery and categorization “homosexuality became a named category or species, whereas previously same-sex love had just been an activity undertaken by a wide variety of people”, turning what was historically seen in cultures like ancient Rome and Greece as an “open secret” into a deviation.
The disciplines all want to stake their claim in human sexuality but the nothing could be more interdisciplinary. When trying to uncover the intricacies behind a person’s thoughts or their sexuality, it’s not just trendy to pull facts and expert opinions from multiple disciplines but it’s absolutely necessary in order to see the complete picture.