Why do we need a transdisciplinary approach to European Studies?Ian Manners suggests a more critical approach in the Sage Handbook of European StudiesThe Sage Handbook of European Studies is published this week. The Handbook promotes the increasing diversity of perspectives employed in the study of contemporary Europe and EU integration, situated in the context of Europe’s transformations. It offers coverage of the political, social, economic, cultural and institutional dimensions of Europe. The Handbook is multidisciplinary in organisation, inclusive in coverage, and cutting-edge in scope, and claims to be a landmark resource for anyone interested in European Studies. The chapter by DIIS Senior Researcher, Ian Manners, suggests that the field of European studies is constituted by the need to constantly rethink how best to study contemporary Europe and the transformations which characterise it. Manners’s chapter argues that European Studies would benefit from more transdisciplinary scholarship, involving research and study around ‘complex heterogeneous domains’ in order to address complex phenomena and the convergence of disciplines under conditions of globality. Whereas multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary work involves comparison of many perspectives, or cooperation between differing perspectives, transdisciplinary research is like standing on one’s head – the reorganisation of disciplinary practices in order to transgress and transcend pre-existing frames of knowledge organisation. Ian Manners will be speaking on transdisciplinarity in European Studies as keynote speaker on ‘Challenging the Mainstream in EU Studies: Critical and Spatial Perspectives’, during the 39th UACES Annual Conference ‘Exchanging Ideas on Europe 2009: Views from France, Views beyond the Mainstream’, in Angers, Loire Valley, France 3-5 September 2009. LINKS: Book: Chris Rumford (ed.) The Sage Handbook of European Studies (London: Sage, July 2009) Conference: 39th UACES Annual Conference ‘Exchanging Ideas on Europe 2009: Views from France, Views Beyond the Mainstream’, in Angers, Loire Valley, France 3-5 September 2009 Author: Ian Manners |
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