A studio approach to teaching biosocial convergence science

Abstract

A key desired learning outcome of higher education is that students understand the complexities and contexts of, as well as the multiple disciplinary perspectives on, the subjects they are studying. Geography higher education has been particularly adept at meeting this objective. Geographers have played key roles in the development of interdisciplinary areas of studies. such as environmental studies, cultural studies, food studies, and science and technology studies, which have increased interest in thematic learning and awareness of the myriad disciplinary perspectives on a particular topic. These efforts, however, have failed to achieve the broader dissolution of siloed disciplinary thinking in classrooms and across the university, leading to proposals for new transdisciplinary frameworks, such as “convergence science.” In this paper, we argue that geography, due to its long-standing role as a synthesis discipline, ought to be at the forefront of bringing this new wave of convergence research into education and training programs. We provide an example of a convergence-based and co-instructed course series for graduate students called the Biosocial Studio, led by a geographer in collaboration with bioscientists. We identify two key pedagogical tools that facilitated the learning process–studio-based teaching and cross-epistemological convergence–and discuss the internal and infrastructural challenges to their implementation.