td-conference 2009

statements on the conference theme - Integration

Call for Papers | Programme | Deadlines | Venue | News | Steering Committee | Partners

INTEGRATION IN INTER- AND TRANSDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

Forging Collective Concepts, Methods and Practices - Changing Structures

Theme

This is the second of a series of annual conferences dedicated to practices, methodologies and epistemologies of inter- and transdisciplinary research and teaching. The first conference focussed on the theme of PROBLEM FRAMING (see td-conference 2008) as a decisive and determining initial phase of the research process. This year’s theme is INTEGRATION (see voices of the community). Very broadly speaking, integration refers to the process of relating experience- and research-based knowledge and perspectives of academic and non-academic experts and stakeholders involved in the project. Such integration can be more or less targeted to an overall synthesis, ranging from mutual exchange and learning about different values, standpoints and approaches to jointly developing a theoretical understanding or a quantitative model of the issue at stake. Integration cuts across the whole research process, from problem framing and problem analysis to bringing results to fruition/implementation. The status of integration as one of the core elements of inter- and transdisciplinarity explains why the label „Integrative Studies“ often figures as a synonym for inter- and transdisciplinary research.

By not only transgressing disciplinary boundaries but including knowledge from academic and non-academic experts, an approach to integration has to support two major integrative moves: first, academic expert knowledge has to be linked to non-academic expert knowledge in ways that are conducive to problem solving and, second, the specific knowledge from highly specialised disciplines has to be made accessible and transferable to concrete life-world contexts.

There haven’t been many attempts to develop a structured, systemic and comparative approach to integration concepts and methods in order to facilitate the successful fulfilment of these principle tasks. The major aims of the td-conference 2009 are therefore:

• to learn about practical experiences of integrating concepts, methods and practices from research and teaching on issues of gender, health, environment, new technologies or science-and-literature/arts, among others;
• to self-reflectively address the norm, values and institutional factors that drive and enable or hinder integrative frameworks;
• to present and critically discuss theoretical, conceptual and methodological models and ‚tool kits’ for integration;
• to collectively forge theories, concepts and practices to integration in inter- and transdisciplinary research.

In order to provide common reference points and frameworks, we will compile a list of bibliographical references as recommended preparatory reading. (pdf not available yet, in preparation)

Formats

The conference includes plenary keynotes, a panel, workshops, and paper sessions.

In the keynote lectures invited experts from Switzerland and abroad will address the theme of integration in different research fields, illustrating specific theoretical and methodological issues with case studies.
 

A panel will join experts from gender studies and discuss what this field could learn from the inter- and transdisciplinary projects presented at the conference so far and where, in turn, gender studies can substantially contribute to the further development of inter- and transdisciplinarity in research and teaching in general.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

We kindly ask you to submit proposals for either paper or workshop sessions.

»Abstract submission: 31 July

Venue

Institute of Geography (GIUB), University of Berne

map (pdf) printversion

Please note that the first session on Friday morning (9:00am - 10:30am) will NOT take place at the GIUB but in the so-called Kuppelraum, which is located on the top floor of the University Main Building. Registration opens at 08:15am at the GIUB though and coffee wil be served in the Foyer (ground floor) of the GIUB at 10:30am on Friday.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION
How to get to the Kuppelraum and the GIUB from the station:
From the station, there are two ways to get to the GIUB: as you stand on the platform, you either take the escalators or staircase up to the so-called ‚Welle’ (an open gallery with a wooden wave roof) and right into the main road Schanzenstrasse. Follow this road uptown into Falkenplatz and then Länggasse. Turn right into Hallerstrasse. Or you go down to the station hall, follow the sign „Universität“ and take the elevator to the top („Schanze“). This is where the Main Building of the University is located and the Friday morning lectures take place, in the Kuppelraum on the top floor. Behind the University turn left into Malerstrasse which will lead you right to the entrance of the GIUB.

News

18.11.2009 conference booklet online (pdf)

18.11.2009 new version of the "Voices of the Community" about Integration published »link

10.11.2009: book stall
You have the opportunity to display inspection copies, brochures, information leaflets, etc. on the book table near the registration desk. We will not sell your books though.

27.9.2009: hotels
The following hotels near the station/venue have reserved rooms for conference participants and offer a discount:

Hotel Arabelle www.arabelle.ch
Please mention that you are participating at this conference in order to pay the university price only.

Hotel National www.nationalbern.ch
Please book by 20 October and mention the conference!

4 double rooms - 150 CHF, breakfast inkl.
4 single rooms (single occupation) - 120 CHF, breakfast inkl.

If rooms are no longer available in these hotels, please book online, for example at www.booking.com.
The venue is very close to the station, so we recommend to book hotels within walking distance. The station itself is also in the city centre and close to the old parts of Berne.

24.6.2009: extension deadline for submissions - 31 July

The second td-conference promises again to be an exciting event, offering a platform for the exchange and mutual learning among colleagues from near and far. Over the last few days, several people have asked whether it is still possible to send an abstract. The workshop sessions are full and there is no shortage of papers to fill the paper sessions either but we could still accommodate a handful more. So, if you still want to present your ideas and projects, please send as an abstract by 31 July at the latest.

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21.6.2009: Voices of the community - A First Collection of Statements about INTEGRATION »more

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8.6.2009: JULIE KLEIN at the td-conference 2009

We are pleased to announce that the td-conference 2009 will be opened on Thursday evening with a keynote lecture by one of the pioneering and leading scholars of inter- and transdisciplinarity - Prof. Julie Thompson Klein (Wayne State University, USA).

Steering Committee

scientific board of td-net

Partners

Institute of Geography (GIUB), University of Berne
Director: Prof. Dr. Doris Wastl-Walter
supported by Stiftung Mercator Schweiz

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