This is our chat question for tonight on EPIC Learners: Do You Do Any Interdisciplinary Teaching?

My first reply is glib–everything I teach is interdisciplinary.

Here is what I mean. I recently posted a tweet about an article I read. The big fete, Burning Man, was the topic of the article.

I’ve never looked this closely at the Burning Man event, nor attended. Quite a museum.

I see that “In 2014, a survey found 87% of Burners were white. Only 6% of attendees surveyed were Latino and just 6% of Burners were Asian. Only 1% of members identified as black.”

— Daniel Bassill (@tutormentorteam) September 18, 2022

My point here is that there are lots of teaching possibilities in this article. And it is most definitely cross-disciplinary.
I think that any of the subheadings can be a jumping off point for cross-fertilization. For example, “Initiation” is about how “Burning Man” has rituals upon entering and leaving. Why shouldn’t we create rituals for our courses.

Another principle of “Burning Man” is that it is not a festival. Could we also insist that what we are doing in the classroom is neither a classroom or a course. We could give a much wider remit to what we do. I think that my classes are all about living in the 21st century during a time of various plagues and existential threat.

This ‘translation’ game might be helpful for teachers and students alike, doncha think?