University of Essex

CS111-4-AU-CO:
Interdisciplinary Research and Problem-Solving: An Introduction

The details

Year: 2024/25

Department: Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Autumn

Level: Undergraduate: Level 4

Status: Current

Start date: Thursday 03 October 2024

End date: Friday 13 December 2024

Credits: 15

Last updated: 14 May 2024

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: CS101

Key module (requisite for): (none)

Key module for

BA T700 American Studies (United States),
BA T702 American Studies (United States) (UK Study),
BA T708 American Studies (United States) (Including Year Abroad),
BA T710 American Studies (United States) (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA T712 American Studies (United States) (UK Study) (Including Placement Year),
BA T770 American Studies (United States) (including Placement Year),
BA T7P3 American Studies (United States) with Film,
BA T7P4 American Studies (United States) with Film (Including Placement Year),
BA T7P5 American Studies (United States) with Film (UK Study),
BA T7W6 American Studies (United States) with Film (Including Year Abroad),
BA T7W8 American Studies (United States) with Film (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA MT26 Criminology and American Studies (UK Study),
BA MT27 Criminology and American Studies (Including Year Abroad),
BA MT28 Criminology and American Studies (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA MT2R Criminology and American Studies,
BA MT3R Criminology and American Studies (Including Placement Year),
BA MT62 Criminology and American Studies (UK Study) (Including Placement Year),
BA R000 European Studies (Including Year Abroad),
BA R001 European Studies,
BA R002 European Studies (Including Placement Year),
BA R008 European Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA R9T8 European Studies and Modern Languages (Including Foundation Year),
BA R9T9 European Studies and Modern Languages,
BA R9R1 European Studies with French,
BA R9R8 European Studies with French (Including Foundation Year),
BA R9R2 European Studies with German,
BA R9R6 European Studies with German (Including Foundation Year),
BA R9R3 European Studies with Italian,
BA R9R7 European Studies with Italian (Including Foundation Year),
BA R9R4 European Studies with Spanish,
BA R9R9 European Studies with Spanish (Including Foundation Year),
BA T711 Latin American Studies (Including Year Abroad),
BA T721 Latin American Studies (Including Placement Year),
BA T731 Latin American Studies,
BA T7N3 Latin American Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA T7N2 Latin American Studies with Business Management,
BA T7N4 Latin American studies with Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA T7M8 Latin American studies with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA T7M9 Latin American Studies with Human Rights,
BA LQV0 Liberal Arts (Including Foundation Year),
BA Q900 Liberal Arts (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA QV00 Liberal Arts (Including Year Abroad),
BA V900 Liberal Arts,
BA V901 Liberal Arts (Including Placement Year),
BA L903 Global Studies,
BA L904 Global Studies (including year abroad),
BA L905 Global Studies (Including Placement Year),
BA L908 Global Studies (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA LR04 Global Studies and Modern Languages (Including Year Abroad),
BA L910 Global Studies with Politics,
BA L911 Global Studies with Politics (Including year abroad),
BA L912 Global Studies with Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA L913 Global Studies with Politics (Including Foundation Year),
BA L914 Global Studies with Human Rights,
BA L916 Global Studies with Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA L917 Global Studies with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA L918 Global Studies with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA L400 Social Change,
BA L400PT Social Change,
BA L401 Social Change (Including Foundation Year),
BA L402 Social Change (including Placement Year),
BA L403 Social Change (including Year Abroad),
BA L933 Global Studies with Business Management,
BA L934 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA L935 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Placement Year),
BA L936 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Year Abroad),
BA R104 Global Studies and Language Studies,
BA R105 Global Studies and Language Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA R108 European Studies and Language Studies,
BA R109 European Studies and Language Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA L994 Global Studies with Latin American Studies,
BA L995 Global Studies with Latin American Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA L996 Global Studies with Latin American Studies (including Placement Year),
BA L997 Global Studies with Latin American Studies (including Year Abroad),
BA L990 Global Studies and Latin American Studies,
BA L991 Global Studies and Latin American Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA L992 Global Studies and Latin American Studies (including Placement Year),
BA L993 Global Studies and Latin American Studies (including Year Abroad),
BA C900 Global Studies with Sustainability,
BA C901 Global Studies with Sustainability (Including Foundation Year),
BA C902 Global Studies with Sustainability (including Placement Year),
BA C903 Global Studies with Sustainability (including Year Abroad)

Module description

The world does not have disciplines; it has problems. What’s more, the most important problems we face – problems like climate change, migration, sustainable economic production, democratic governance, and so on – cannot be solved with the tools of any single discipline. Such problems require collaborative, creative, and interdisciplinary approaches, and yet Higher Education remains largely structured around narrow, disciplinary degrees. This module introduces students to an alternative interdisciplinary problem-solving approach.

Students will learn how to approach complex problems by drawing on theories and methods from multiple disciplines, learning how to think flexibly and work with others to find creative solutions to real-world problems. With the help of experienced teachers, they will work on projects that bring together knowledge from different areas, helping them see the big picture and work well with others. By the end, they will have the skills and mindset they need to tackle tough challenges and make a real difference.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

To demonstrate to students the power of creative, collaborative, and interdisciplinary problem-solving.

To provide students with a framework for approaching complex problems not only during their studies but also in their future careers after graduation.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

Understand the concept of interdisciplinary problem-solving and its significance in addressing complex real-world challenges.

Identify and analyse connections between different disciplines to recognize opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Demonstrate cognitive flexibility, allowing for the exploration of multiple perspectives and approaches to problem-solving.

Apply a broad problem-solving model to a particular real-world challenge

Cultivate effective communication and collaboration skills necessary for interdisciplinary teamwork.

Demonstrate proficiency in integrating knowledge and methodologies from multiple disciplines to devise innovative solutions.

Engage in reflective practices to assess personal growth and learning outcomes in interdisciplinary problem-solving.

Module information

No additional information available.

Learning and teaching methods

This module will be delivered via:

One 1-hour lecture per week.
One 1-hour class/seminar per week.

There will also be a Reading Week when no teaching will take place, exact week to be confirmed.

Bibliography

Hirsch, F. (1977) Social limits to growth. London: Routledge and Keegan Paul. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/435962.
Brighouse, H. and Swift, A. (2006) ‘Equality, Priority, and Positional Goods’, Ethics, 116(3), pp. 471–497. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1086/500524.
Foote, K.E. and Azaryahu, M. (2019) ‘Sense of Place’, in International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, pp. 96–100. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/2374392.
Holton, M. (2015) ‘Adapting relationships with place: Investigating the evolving place attachment and “sense of place” of UK higher education students during a period of intense transition’, Geoforum, 59, pp. 21–29. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2014.11.017.
Pink, S. (2007) ‘Walking with video’, Visual Studies, 22(3), pp. 240–252. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14725860701657142.
Tragedy of the Commons: Examples & Solutions | HBS Online (no date). Available at: https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/tragedy-of-the-commons-impact-on-sustainability-issues.
Hardin, G. (1968) ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’, Science, 162(3859), pp. 1243–1248. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.162.3859.1243.
Hardin, G. (1998) ‘Extensions of “The Tragedy of the Commons”’, Science, 280(5364), pp. 682–683. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.280.5364.682.
‘Ending The Tragedy of The Commons | Elinor Ostrom | Big Think - YouTube’ (no date). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr5Q3VvpI7w.
The tragedy of the commons is a false and dangerous myth | Aeon Essays (no date). Available at: https://aeon.co/essays/the-tragedy-of-the-commons-is-a-false-and-dangerous-myth.
Ostrom, E. et al. (1999) ‘Revisiting the Commons: Local Lessons, Global Challenges’, Science, 284(5412), pp. 278–282. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.284.5412.278.
Lundgren, L. et al. (1999) ‘The Tragedy of the Commons Revisited’, Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 41(2), pp. 4–45. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00139157.1999.10544058.
Wilson, D.S., Ostrom, E. and Cox, M.E. (2013) ‘Generalizing the core design principles for the efficacy of groups’, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 90, pp. S21–S32. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2012.12.010.
‘Innovation in the Collective Brain - YouTube’ (no date). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNqCxRMjbnw&t=7s.
Muthukrishna, M. and Henrich, J. (2016) ‘Innovation in the collective brain’, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371(1690). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0192.

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam	Description	Deadline	Coursework weighting
Coursework	Reading Quizzes - Autumn Total		30%
Coursework	500-word Reflective Essay	27/11/2024	20%
Coursework	Collaborative Problem-solving Project	11/12/2024	50%
Exam	Main exam: In-Person, Open Book (Restricted), 120 minutes during January
Exam	Reassessment Main exam: Remote, Open Book, 24hr during September (Reassessment Period)

Exam format definitions

Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework	Exam
50%	50%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
50%	50%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Dr Matthew Burch, email: mburch@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff:

Contact details: PHAIS General Office - 6.130; isugadmin@essex.ac.uk.

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: Yes

Available to Outside Option: Yes

Available to Audit: Yes

External examiner

No external examiner information available for this module.

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: Of 24 hours, 24 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

Further information

Department website: Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)

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The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.

Module Directory

CS111-4-AU-CO:Interdisciplinary Research and Problem-Solving: An Introduction