“Interdisciplinarity” means to be using or drawing from two or more different subjects or areas of knowledge (Queen’s University n.d.) That means that to be interdisciplinary, one must combine knowledge and practices of different areas of discipline that will help unify and strengthen/improve a project or answer. And to be “disciplinary agnostic” is to understand the different specialisations and not favour one particular speciality. Understanding the strength of each specialisation and knowing when to use it, is what it means to be disciplinary agnostic. By synergising these concepts you can be interdisciplinary and/or disciplinary agnostic.
In the context of communication, one example can be seen utilised in the field of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). IMC integrates all promotional tools, so that they can work collaboratively in harmony (MMC Learning n.d.). Instead of using just one platform, for example; marketing, to showcase a product/concept/idea, IMC utilises different disciplines like, Public Relations, advertising, marketing, journalism, media to communicate the intended message to its desired markets. With the knowledge and understanding of different platforms, it allows better reach and outcomes from the project that is created.
And in an IMC agency, there can be departments where one is better at a specific field. For example, one department specialises in Public Relations, one specialises in Advertising, one specialises in Marketing etc. but this makes the agency interdisciplinary as it utilises the strength of each departments to collaborate and produce quality work as a whole. In a sense, it is like a musical orchestra where different instruments have different roles but as a whole they can play a magnificent piece together.
But to be interdisciplinary, utilising each other’s strength and synergising them could orchestrate into a symphony.
This can be translated into IMC and our studies in communication.
As an aspiring communications professional, I feel that it is desirable to be interdisciplinary or disciplinary agnostic as I would not be anchored down by one specialization which could limit my thought process. By having the understanding of different specializations, I can view it from different angles to have a better insight on the purpose of future campaigns, why we are doing it in this way, the audiences that will be affected by said campaigns and the message that I want to convey through it. By not favouring one specialization and having an open understanding of these different specializations I can mix different ideas from different studies to produce something significant and compelling. In the future, if I were to work in an agency that is interdisciplinary, I would get different ideas or viewpoints from the various departments to synthesise and integrate to make the product/idea better. Instead of relying on my understanding of one discipline.
In a way, being interdisciplinary is like being a jack of all trades, master of none, better than a master of one. And that is what I strive to be in the future.
Reference List
Queen’s University n.d., Disciplinarity and Interdisciplinarity, Queen’s University, viewed on 28 February 2020,
https://www.queensu.ca/strategicplanning/academic/disciplines
MMC Learning n.d., Integrated Marketing Communications, MMC Learning, viewed on 28 February 2020,
http://multimediamarketing.com/mkc/marketingcommunications/
Home 