[Air-l] Re: Air-l digest, Vol 1 #540 - 20 msgs

[Adrian Miles]

At 12:01 -0500 6/11/02, Matt wrote:
>My contribution is, however, to ask if there is value in shifting the debate
>away from the noun, discipline, to the verb 'to discipline' (obviously
>following Foucault here)? I think that disciplines are defined, mostly, by
>the processes and actions which maintain and perpetuate them, rather than by
>the boundaries or terrain which they enclose.  I would assert that the
>difficulty for transdisciplinary scholars, such as found in areas of study
>such as Internet Studies, is not in traversing the ground, nor crossing the
>borders, of the many disciplines which they might encounter; rather, the
>difficulty is one of connection with and deep understanding of processes.

well put. i also think the key thing that needs to be acknowledged in 
this discussion is we are not talking about what makes a discipline 
but (to follow Foucault and i imagine Derrida), more particularly how 
the discipline is disciplined. ie a discipline is only constituted by 
the act that disciplines it. that's where the debates and arguments 
(the power) lies.

cheers
adrian miles
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