The Interdisciplining of Computer Music
Kenneth Fields · University of Michigan Library Repository · 2000
This paper addresses the problems of maturation and deepening of the interdisciplinary field of computer music.Where disciplinary work is signified by the metaphor of vertical depth and characterized by words such as mastery and rigor, where interdisciplinary work is designated as horizontal or broad and described as boundary work between disciplinary establishments, we face the challenge of legitimization and theoretical framing within which the organization of computer music research may flourish.We live in a society where the production of knowledge has gained primary value, and where interdisciplinary centers have become the locus of this production (Dogan).As knowledge structures mutate in a natural evolutionary manner, interdisciplinarities arise to challenge the adaptational ability of the modern university; the institution should welcome this stress test.This study draws from the literatures of interdisciplinarity discourse (Kline, Klein, Clark), philosophy of education (Phenix, Dewey, Snow), historical perspectives of the modern university (Muller, Nakayama), curriculum inquiry (Pinar, Slattery, Doll), and comparative analyses of theory and methodologies between disciplines (Kreiswirth).We have reached a critical mass of knowledge in and of the field of computer music; it is an opportune time for a reflexive critique of the cognitive and institutional nature of our inquiry.