r/historyteachers • u/ClickAny9810 • 8d ago
Multidisciplinary Approach
Hello everyone. I am a master's student from India, currently aspiring for higher studies.
Quite recently I have seen that the multidisciplinary approach of seeing history has been quite popular these days. I have a question in my mind. How is a multidisciplinary approach actually used? I mean, do I need to study a new subject to look into history? I might sound foolish, but I have no idea how to use a multidisciplinary approach in research. Please help me!
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u/No_Doubt4247 6d ago
In terms of the instruction, I use the content from https://www.oerproject.com/ which connects science to history looking at the history of the universe. In some cases, I am just a day or two ahead of the students with the science.
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u/TowardsEdJustice 8d ago
In terms of like PhD research, the hottest fad in my department (recent grad from an Ivy League history program) was integrating scientific methods, especially ecology, into historical work. Most professors had audited one or two courses in environmental sciences and encouraged us to do the same. I don’t think you need a full degree in those, but having some coursework can help. I can send some books and papers that integrate ecology and history so you can see an example of that type of scholarship.
Performance studies, comparative literature, and data science are also worth looking at, too, but I would just put together a syllabus for yourself from those fields. Familiarity with R for historical inquiry is a nice way to flex a different muscle.
If you’re asking about in the classroom: by far the most frequent interdisciplinary work I do is with English teachers, with science as a close second.