Facilitating the In-between to foster Cross-Disciplinary Practices in Teaching

Abstract

Complex societal challenges increasingly call for inter- and transdisciplinary approaches. Sometimes this is also reflected in higher education curricula, despite university structures largely remaining entrenched in disciplinary silos. We provide insights from the Cross-Disciplinary Strategies (CDS) study programme at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, which deliberately brings together three disciplinary pillars – artistic strategies and approaches to art; science & technology; and economy & politics. We address the question of what happens when field typologies and field dynamics intersect and directs attention to the in-between – spaces in which disciplinary, epistemic, and organizational logics are negotiated. We show that the in-between is best understood as a negotiation space between different fields, not as a field of its own. Its dynamics emerge not only from institutional structures but from practices of collaboration, negotiation, and mutual socialization – challenging and being challenged by established institutional structures. Conceptually, we draw on the field concepts of Lewin (2012) and Bourdieu (1997), STS concepts such as boundary work (Gieryn, 1995), boundary object (Star & Griesemer, 1989) and epistemic cultures (Knorr Cetina, 1999). Facilitation functions as a method of social transformation that enables communication and self-organization, while the concept of “Communities of Practice” (Wenger, 1998) provides the framework for collective learning and developmental processes. Key findings show that the in‑between is a socially and group‑dynamically shaped space where openness, reflexivity, and equality are cultivated through facilitation. Boundary objects enable translation across epistemic cultures; Communities of Practice sustain learning despite hierarchical pressures. Institutional structures – standardised assessment models, rigid departmental boundaries – both constrain and are reshaped by emergent practices such as self-assessment and co-teaching. The Lab’s iterative cycles and critique sessions serve as mechanisms for continuous negotiation and reflexivity. Our findings highlight the necessity of facilitation capacity for faculty, flexible assessment frameworks that recognise process over product, and institutional support and awareness that acknowledge the fluidity of cross‑disciplinary practice. The CDS Lab demonstrates that facilitation can transform institutional constraints into opportunities for collective learning, offering model for fostering genuine cross-disciplinary practice in higher education teaching.

Titel der Veranstaltung

Diffracting STS and the Classroom: Teaching and Transforming STS between Epistemic Traditions, Institutional Structures, and Artificial Intelligence

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