General Purpose

The umbrella term interdisciplinary studies is used to encompass twelve programs of an intercultural and interdisciplinary nature. These are African and African-American Studies, American Studies, Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Asian Studies (including the Near East), Cinema Studies, Comparative Literature, Latin American Studies, Linguistics, Medieval Studies, Russian and East European Studies, Urban Studies, and Women's Studies. The programs offer courses, mostly at the undergraduate level, that fit more comfortably in an interdisciplinary environment than in a single academic department.

Subject Description

This varied program covers all aspects of African and African-American Studies, including historic coverage; American Studies from an historical, literary and cultural perspective; history, literature, religion, archaeology and philosophy of ancient Mediterranean studies; language and literature of Asian countries, including the Near East, as well as works on any subject area in the vernacular languages of those countries; the historical, artistic and technical aspects of global cinema studies; comparative literature of all languages, periods and geographical areas; all aspects of social sciences and humanities as regards Latin America; linguistics (with a lesser emphasis on theoretical linguistics); literature, religion and history of medieval Europe; contemporary and historical treatments of Russian and East European history and politics; planning and urban studies; the literature and history of women's movements.

Overlap with Other Subjects

Being multidisciplinary in nature, this broad discipline overlaps with almost all fields in the social sciences and humanities with the exception of art, music and library science.

Languages Collected and Excluded

All languages of the world are collected, with a strong emphasis on English and little emphasis on African and Near Eastern languages.

Geographic Parameters

Materials published all over the world are collected. Of third world countries, some special attention is given to materials on and from Brazil, Ecuador, China and Japan.

Chronological Scope

Chronological coverage differs with each specific discipline. In general, modern era materials are emphasized, with the exception of the ancient Mediterranean, medieval and Asian fields.

Dates of Publication

Funds permitting, retrospective purchases are made. Most materials acquired are current publications.

Retrospective Acquisitions

Retrospective selections are usually purchased only when special funds are available, such as grant funds and endowments. To fill in gaps in any of the fields covered or to respond to new research initiatives and teaching needs, limited retrospective purchasing is done as needed.

Types of Materials Collected and Excluded

Monographs and serials are both included. Few newspapers in foreign languages, theses or dissertations are acquired. Guidebooks, how-to and textbooks are all excluded. A small number of popular serials and monographs are acquired in foreign languages for use in language classes.

Formats of Materials Collected and Excluded

No restriction is placed on formats. Cinema Studies collects particularly heavily in videotapes and videodiscs. Materials issued in electronic format are acquired depending on the availability of the necessary hardware.

Cooperation with Other Libraries

No cooperative collection development agreements are in place; however, preliminary discussions on resource sharing and coordinated collection development in area studies such as Latin American and German have been initiated with Vanderbilt University and the University of Kentucky.

Alternative Access to Resources

Of great importance to many of the interdisciplinary disciplines is the Libraries' membership in the Center for Research Libraries which supplies many voluminous resources and foreign-language resources, especially in the areas of history, area studies, women's studies, African and African-American studies. Other inter-libary lenders also provide titles of a specialized nature or titles in foreign languages.

Position Responsible for Collection

Head, Collection Development & Management, Linda Phillips
Social Sciences Coordinator, Jane Row
Humanities Coordinator, Molly Royse

Corresponding Fund

Interdisciplinary Studies. Most purchases for interdisciplinary materials are bought from corresponding subject codes such as anthropology, business, classics, education, English, history, languages (Germanic and Slavic as well as European), philosophy, planning, political science, religious studies and sociology.

Other Factors

Because of the large number of competing claims on this fund, a high degree of coordination is required both in expending the Interdisciplinary Studies fund and in locating other funds able to purchase interdisciplinary materials. Many programs are content to have their materials purchased from other funds though this has historically not been the case with African and African-American Studies, Asian Studies and Women's Studies.

May 22, 2002