As I sit here on my laptop looking through the just about 8 different assignments that need to be complete within the next week, I am beyond overwhelmed. But in this whirlwind of chaos that is the end of the semester, I am amazed at the interdisciplinarity that has occurred within my classes this semester. Here I am in the beginning of the semester, walking into an English class with no idea what I’ll be in for and I’m introduced to this idea of interdisciplinarity. Never had I heard of this concept before nor had I ever considered it in relation to my own life. But now looking back, all of my classes were hand-in-hand at some points.
For example, with Cane we had talked about the rights that individuals had during the time the novel was written – at which that same time I was reading John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government in Humanities learning about the origin of the rights of man. My education courses talked about the types of individuals that held power in “the system” of the world at the same point we were venting and finding our footing in class after the election. At different times during the semester I had felt, as some might say, “that the stars are in alignment.” I am a firm believer that everything must happen for a reason, and by learning about interdisciplinarity to then find it everywhere around me, I feel as though I am a better student and a more metacognitive individual. I think that I as an individual could grasp the subjects better through this interdisciplinarity – and I believe that this example of interdisciplinarity goes to show that the knowledge and inter-workings of disciplines during my past semester is crucial to my success as a college student. And crucial to my success as an individual in a professional and intellectual world. So as I pour over my work, with a lack of sleep, drained determination and a huge (but impossible at the end of the semester) desire to watch a single Christmas movie, I will have a greater appreciation for the role of each different discipline that plays a part in my shaping as an intellectual.