So, what is with all of this fancy jargon? What do we mean by arts-centered interdisciplinary collaboration? To put it in the simplest terms, it means to work with others who specialize in a variety of areas in order to innovate or ideate, while keeping arts/creativity a central part of the process. It's important to recognize that someone who is a mathematics major will not approach a problem the same way a painting major would - and this is okay. In fact, it's wonderful! It's great to know that we all think differently. The world would be so boring if we all were the same!
We've all heard the saying, "great minds think alike," but collaboration between people of different perspectives or specialties will consistently produce more impressive ideas. If a problem is only approached from one angle or perspective, there will be holes left in the proposed solution that only someone who thinks differently would be able to address.
Imagine a Music Technology major who has a passion for children with disabilities, such as autism. Now, imagine placing a Psychology major in the same room as the Music Technology major. The two students could collaborate together on how to create music therapy for children with special needs. Taking it a step further, say they wanted to create an actual device that would play the music for the child to carry around. Introduce the two students to an Engineering major and CIS major, and the connections and collaborations can go on and on. It's easy to see that creative collaboration between people of differing specialties can lead to amazing inventions and discoveries.
This semester, we hope to inspire you and encourage you to connect with others who may have a different perspective than you. While this can sometimes be difficult because it usually involves getting out of your comfort zone, it will lead to much better and more fresh ideas. What is your passion? What is something that you would love to be able to do that involves forming an interdisciplinary team? Figure it out and go for it!
