To all members of the Research Practice forum:

We are writing to ask you to review a manuscript, "Multidisciplinarity,
Interdisciplinarity, and Bridging Disciplines: A Matter of Process," for a
special issue about interdisciplinary education, which will be published this
November in the Journal of Research Practice (JRP).

We are co-editing this special issue, which intends to take a hard look at the
mismatch between our current inherited structures for
organizing knowledge (the combination of conceptual, methodological, and
institutional forms that comprise disciplines) and interdisciplinary ways of
pursuing new knowledge. It is our hope that this collection of articles, written
from various standpoints, will highlight the advantages and pitfalls of
interdisciplinary alignments in education and research.

Submission # 104, "Multidisciplinarity, Interdisciplinarity, and Bridging
Disciplines: A Matter of Process," for which we are now seeking two
reviewers, considers the bridging disciplines, focusing on geography and
anthropology, and what interdisciplinary studies can learn from their long
existence. It explains what is meant by the fallacy of nomothetic claim
and addresses the fruitful production of answers and solutions by viewing
process, not domain, as the key to interdisciplinary success. Staking
claim to interdisciplinarity is shown to be unproductive while finding the
need for interdisciplinary approaches and following the mandates of that
need in the pursuit of solutions to problems and questions strengthens
both the disciplines and the development of interdisciplinary studies.

In reviewing this essay, we ask that you judge whether it

(1) makes a significant, original contribution to the topic of
interdisciplinary education;

(2) is accessible to a broad international audience of researchers
and educators; and

(3) is well-written, logical in structure, and clear in language use.

We ask also that you include any suggestions for revision.

We need to receive your review by July 15, 2007. If you can do the review,
please let us know. We would also welcome any suggestions for alternate
referees.

To post your review on-line, you should be a registered member in the journal's
on-line system. If you are not already a member there, please contact the
journal editor (dpdash@...) with the following details:

Preferred username:
(only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens/underscores)
First Name:
Middle Name:
Last Name:
Preferred e-mail ID:

Effective peer review is essential to the success of JRP, as of all academic
journals, and we greatly appreciate your time and effort.

Sincerely,

Anne Dalke and Elizabeth McCormack
Departments of English and Physics
Bryn Mawr College, USA

Co-Editors, Special Issue on Interdisciplinary Education
Journal of Research Practice (JRP)
http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/