On the [field] typology of the in-between: facilitating cross-disciplinary challenges

Article in Journal With Citation Index (Peer Reviewed)

Authors

Adnan Balcinovic , Fabian Fischer , Andrea Schaffar

Editors

Ulrich Krainz , Ronny Jahn

Publisher, Date

Springer, 2026

Keywords

Field Typologies, In-between, Facilitation, Communities of Practice, Group Dynamics, Cross-Disciplinary Practice

Text

This article in Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation (GIO) addresses the question of what happens when field typologies and field dynamics intersect and directs attention to the in-between—those spaces in which disciplinary, epistemic, and organizational logics are negotiated. Drawing on the development and implementation of the study program Cross-Disciplinary Strategies (CDS) at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, the article shows that the in-between does not constitute a field of its own but is better understood as a negotiation space between different fields. Its dynamics emerge not only from institutional structures but from practices of collaboration, negotiation, and mutual socialization. Theoretically, the article draws on the field concepts of Kurt Lewin and Pierre Bourdieu and transfers them to cross- and transdisciplinary contexts. Facilitation functions as a method of social transformation that enables communication and self-organization, while the concept of Communities of Practice provides the framework for collective learning and developmental processes. Across the authors’ perspectives, it becomes evident that successful collaboration in the in-between requires an attitude of openness, reflexivity, and equality. The in-between thus appears as a socially and group-dynamically shaped space in which new forms of collective practice emerge.

Language, Format, Material, Edition

German

Activity List

Published By: Adnan Balcinovic | Universität für Angewandte Kunst Wien | Publication Date: 03 March 2026, 08:49 | Edit Date: 03 March 2026, 08:55