Director's Welcome
Interdisciplinary studies have long been central and essential to my own approach to scholarship. My graduate training was in music theory and composition, but I realized early on that studying music in a vacuum was not personally satisfying. I remain fascinated by the ways that music interacts with other aspects of human creativity and self-knowing. And so it did not take too much convincing for me to accept the position of Founding Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Collaborative Arts beginning in November 2006.
The overwhelming tendency within education in the arts, humanities, and sciences over the past hundred years or so has been toward increasing specialization. Of course, there are good reasons to specialize. Mastering the knowledge base within any discipline can be all consuming, and a meaningful contribution within many areas of human inquiry and creativity can only come after a deep grounding within a relatively circumscribed area of study. Yet, we have come to realize that over specialization has its own costs – not only do we loose sight of interconnections between various areas of inquiry and modes of creativity, but more importantly, we loose the potential for the kinds of genuine interaction where research and creativity in one discipline stimulates research and creativity in another.
Collaboration among the arts is as old as the arts themselves, but in university settings we have tended to separate from one another. Each area has its own curriculum, student body, and even physical place. In a big university such as ours, it is not far-fetched to imagine, for example, a student who majors in music, just down the street from another who majors in dance, both of whom have never even seen the space where the other does his or her work. The Interdisciplinary Program in Collaborative Arts is meant to remedy this.
We have assembled a remarkable faculty, all of whom share a sense of excitement as we begin this extraordinary program. A major and minor in Collaborative Arts will be established over the coming year (2008-2009) and will be in place by 2009-2010. In addition to innovative course offerings, we will be sponsoring a number of events throughout the year, so check out our news page!Michael Cherlin
Founding Director, Interdisciplinary Program in Collaborative Arts