The Paradox of Inter/Disciplinarity: A Rethinking of the Politics of Inter/Disciplinarity and ‘Women’s and Gender Studies’ for the Current Moment

Abstract In this paper, we argue that Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) should be embraced and acknowledged as a discipline. This is premised on two contentions: that disciplines are arbitrarily differentiated and that couching WGS in the mystique of interdisciplinarity serves to marginalize the stu...

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Main Authors: Karen Ella McCallum, Felicia Rahaman, Haley Turnbull
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mount Saint Vincent University 2015-09-01
Series:Atlantis
Subjects:
Online Access:https://140.230.24.104/index.php/atlantis/article/view/2882
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author Karen Ella McCallum
Felicia Rahaman
Haley Turnbull
author_facet Karen Ella McCallum
Felicia Rahaman
Haley Turnbull
author_sort Karen Ella McCallum
collection DOAJ
description Abstract In this paper, we argue that Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) should be embraced and acknowledged as a discipline. This is premised on two contentions: that disciplines are arbitrarily differentiated and that couching WGS in the mystique of interdisciplinarity serves to marginalize the study of issues pertinent to gender, women, and feminisms in comparison to other topics. We maintain that WGS is disciplinary, but we also highlight the importance of multi- and interdisciplinary partnerships and research. Résumé Dans cet article, nous faisons valoir que les études des femmes et du genre doivent être acceptées et reconnues comme une discipline. Cet argument est basé sur deux assertions : que les disciplines font l’objet d’une distinction arbitraire et que la présentation des études des femmes et du genre dans la mystique de l’interdisciplinarité ne fait que marginaliser l’étude des enjeux pertinents au genre, aux femmes et au féminisme, comparativement à d’autres disciplines. Nous soutenons que les études des femmes et du genre sont disciplinaires, mais nous mettons aussi en évidence l’importance des partenariats et des recherches multidisciplinaires et interdisciplinaires.
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spelling doaj-art-df6cbe07ee2f40be8ae60044f6dcd28f2025-08-20T02:09:24ZengMount Saint Vincent UniversityAtlantis0702-78181715-06982015-09-01371The Paradox of Inter/Disciplinarity: A Rethinking of the Politics of Inter/Disciplinarity and ‘Women’s and Gender Studies’ for the Current MomentKaren Ella McCallum0Felicia Rahaman1Haley Turnbull2School of Advanced Study, University of LondonMcMaster UniversityM.A. Gender Studies and Feminist Research, McMaster University; B.A. History and Political Science, University of Toronto Abstract In this paper, we argue that Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) should be embraced and acknowledged as a discipline. This is premised on two contentions: that disciplines are arbitrarily differentiated and that couching WGS in the mystique of interdisciplinarity serves to marginalize the study of issues pertinent to gender, women, and feminisms in comparison to other topics. We maintain that WGS is disciplinary, but we also highlight the importance of multi- and interdisciplinary partnerships and research. Résumé Dans cet article, nous faisons valoir que les études des femmes et du genre doivent être acceptées et reconnues comme une discipline. Cet argument est basé sur deux assertions : que les disciplines font l’objet d’une distinction arbitraire et que la présentation des études des femmes et du genre dans la mystique de l’interdisciplinarité ne fait que marginaliser l’étude des enjeux pertinents au genre, aux femmes et au féminisme, comparativement à d’autres disciplines. Nous soutenons que les études des femmes et du genre sont disciplinaires, mais nous mettons aussi en évidence l’importance des partenariats et des recherches multidisciplinaires et interdisciplinaires. https://140.230.24.104/index.php/atlantis/article/view/2882PedagogyInterdisciplinarityWGS Graduate Program
spellingShingle Karen Ella McCallum
Felicia Rahaman
Haley Turnbull
The Paradox of Inter/Disciplinarity: A Rethinking of the Politics of Inter/Disciplinarity and ‘Women’s and Gender Studies’ for the Current Moment
Atlantis
Pedagogy
Interdisciplinarity
WGS Graduate Program
title The Paradox of Inter/Disciplinarity: A Rethinking of the Politics of Inter/Disciplinarity and ‘Women’s and Gender Studies’ for the Current Moment
title_full The Paradox of Inter/Disciplinarity: A Rethinking of the Politics of Inter/Disciplinarity and ‘Women’s and Gender Studies’ for the Current Moment
title_fullStr The Paradox of Inter/Disciplinarity: A Rethinking of the Politics of Inter/Disciplinarity and ‘Women’s and Gender Studies’ for the Current Moment
title_full_unstemmed The Paradox of Inter/Disciplinarity: A Rethinking of the Politics of Inter/Disciplinarity and ‘Women’s and Gender Studies’ for the Current Moment
title_short The Paradox of Inter/Disciplinarity: A Rethinking of the Politics of Inter/Disciplinarity and ‘Women’s and Gender Studies’ for the Current Moment
title_sort paradox of inter disciplinarity a rethinking of the politics of inter disciplinarity and women s and gender studies for the current moment
topic Pedagogy
Interdisciplinarity
WGS Graduate Program
url https://140.230.24.104/index.php/atlantis/article/view/2882
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