Interdisciplinary Studies

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2014-15 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu/.

About the Program

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

The Interdisciplinary Studies Field (ISF) major offers students the opportunity to develop an individualized research program. With the help of an ISF faculty adviser, students use courses from the social sciences, the humanities, or the professional schools and colleges in order to pursue their research. Typically, students select courses from three disciplines. In addition, the ISF major offers a capstone experience in that all students will research and write a substantive thesis. The research program must meet three criteria:

  1. First, it must be interdisciplinary. This means that the research area must integrate approaches from at least three fields or disciplines. The principle of integration can be comparative, transnational, historical, geographic, or thematic.
  2. Second, the research area must not replicate an existing major. The purpose of the ISF major is to enable research interests of undergraduates in areas in which no formal program exists.
  3. Third, the area of research must be feasible. Each student's proposed research program must be discussed with a faculty adviser to make sure that the range and number of courses required will be available.

The field major is administered by a faculty advisory committee and is one of the programs of the Office of Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Studies.

Declaring the Major

Students should apply to the major before or during the first semester of their junior year. Students will be considered for the Interdisciplinary Studies Field major on the basis of the appropriateness of their proposed area of research, the quality of their previous work in relevant courses, and their overall promise for interdisciplinary work. Candidates for the major should discuss their individual research proposal with an ISF faculty member before submitting an application. Applications will be accepted during fall or spring semesters only; ISF does not process applications during the summer.

Honors Program

All Honors students enroll in the senior thesis seminar with other majors (ISF 190). There will no longer be a separate Honors Thesis Seminar (ISF H195). Senior Honors Theses that receive Honors will be no different in length and baseline requirements than other ISF Senior Theses, although they will inevitably use more primary and secondary sources, employ a more sophisticated methodology, and offer more rigorous and sophisticated interpretations. Students seeking Honors will still need to identify and seek out Senate Faculty members from other departments for advice and to serve as Second Readers. Their grades in ISF 190 will still be constituted by an average of grades assigned by the ISF 190 Instructor and the Second Readers.

Students eligible for Honors must still have an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.6, including grades in ISF courses. But the degree of Honors in ISF will no longer be tied to a particular GPA. Instead, students in the Honors option will be nominated for a degree of honors (Honors, High Honors, Highest Honors) by the ISF instructor, the Second Reader, or another ladder faculty member.

The assessment of the degree of honors will be made by an ISF Honors Committee consisting of no fewer than two teaching faculty of the ISF Program and two Academic Senate Members under the oversight of the ISF Director. The ISF Honors Committee will use the criteria of scholarly originality, methodological sophistication (including interdisciplinarity), the quality of source interpretation, and excellence in writing and argumentation to adjudicate the degree of honors to be conferred. To allow adequate time for the Honors Committee to assess and review the Senior Honors Theses, students seeking Honors will be required to turn in their final Senior Theses at the beginning of the Reading/Review/Recitation Week.

Minor Program

There is no minor program in Interdisciplinary Studies.

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Major Requirements

In addition to the University, campus, and college requirements, listed on the College Requirements tab, students must fulfill the below requirements specific to their major program.

General Guidelines

  1. All courses taken to fulfill the major requirements below must be taken for graded credit, other than courses listed which are offered on a Pass/No Pass basis only. Other exceptions to this requirement are noted as applicable.
  2. No more than one upper-division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs, with the exception of minors offered outside of the College of Letters and Science.
  3. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be maintained in both upper- and lower-division courses used to fulfill the major requirements.

For information regarding residence requirements and unit requirements, please see the College Requirements tab.

Summary of Major Requirements

Prerequisites
World Civilizations: Two courses
Upper-division Requirements
Course of Study: Minimum six courses, 20 units
Core Methodology: Two courses
Interdisciplinary Research Methods: One course
Senior Thesis: One course

Prerequisite: World Civilizations

The World Civilizations prerequisite supposes a broad historical, cultural, and geographical study of a world civilization other than the U.S. as a preparation for focused, empirically-driven and site-specific research.

Select one course from two of the following categories (lower- or upper-division):

  • Global Regions Courses: Courses that can be counted as Global Regions courses must satisfy the requirement that their principal subject and site of inquiry does not concern U.S. history or culture (except as a site of pre-Colombian societies and civilizations).  Courses based on geographic regions (African History and Culture, the Art of Southeast Asia, or national histories outside North America) can be counted, as can courses cast globally (The World Economy in the 20th Century).  Global Regions are not necessarily geographic (Introduction to Development), nor are they necessarily historical (Contemporary Chinese Art), but these courses do bear the stamp of time and place beyond Western Civilization.
  • Pre-Modern Courses: Courses that can be counted for the Pre-Modern category include any whose subject matter is, for the most part, about the period prior to 1600 B.C., inclusive of all civilizations, from Ancient Mesopotamia through Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages in Europe, and Early Islam, Early China, South Asia, or pre-Colombian Central and South America, including any topical courses covering these periods (the Economic History of Early Modern Japan).
  • Modern History Courses: Courses that can be counted as Modern History include all those that substantially treat the question of the modern world (including European) history since 1600, but are not predominantly about contemporary societies and civilizations. Modern History courses thus include courses in disciplines and departments such as Literature, Economics, Political Science, Political Economy of Industrial Societies (PEIS), that have a substantial focus on the modern past, the period from 1600 to the present. 20th century Latin American Fiction would count, as would the Art History of the Renaissance, Modern Chinese Political Theory, a history of European imperialism, and many others.

For transfer students, it is strongly recommended that this requirement be completed before enrolling at Berkeley. Transfer students must submit syllabi of courses already taken to their ISF faculty adviser for approval. Both prerequisite courses must be taken for a letter grade.

Upper-division Requirement: Course of Study

Select a minimum of 20 upper-division units (at least six courses) drawn from at least three fields or disciplines. Upon consent of an adviser, courses outside of the College of Letters and Science may be accepted when relevant, e.g., courses in Social Welfare, Journalism, Public Policy, City Planning, Business Administration, Architecture, etc. (For further information, please see Sample Research Programs  on the program's website.) Upon approval from an ISF faculty adviser, a student may include one technical or natural science course as part of their Course of Study.

Upper-division Requirement: Core Methodology courses

These courses provide an introduction to interdisciplinary theories and methodologies in the social sciences and the humanities.

ISF 100AIntroduction to Social Theory and Cultural Analysis4
Select one of the following:
Introduction to Social Theory and Cultural Analysis
Word and Image
Introduction to Technology, Society, and Culture
The Globalization of Rights, Values, and Laws in the 21st Century
Introduction to Science, Society, and Ethics
Introduction to Media and International Relations
One course from the list of approved courses taught in other departments. 1
1

The list changes every semester; please see the ISF website for the current list.

Upper-division Requirement: Interdisciplinary Research Methods

ISF 189Introduction to Interdisciplinary Research Methods3

Upper-division Requirement: Senior Thesis

For further details on the requirements for the thesis, including the Creative Thesis option, please see the program's website .

ISF 190Senior Thesis4

College Requirements

Undergraduate students in the College of Letters and Science must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those required by their major program.

For detailed lists of courses that fulfill college requirements, please see the College of Letters and Sciences  page in this bulletin. 

Entry Level Writing

All students who will enter the University of California as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing Requirement. Fulfillment of this requirement is also a prerequisite to enrollment in all reading and composition courses at UC Berkeley. 

American History and American Institutions

The American History and Institutions requirements are based on the principle that a U.S. resident graduated from an American university should have an understanding of the history and governmental institutions of the United States.

American Cultures

American Cultures is the one requirement that all undergraduate students at Cal need to take and pass in order to graduate. The requirement offers an exciting intellectual environment centered on the study of race, ethnicity and culture of the United States. AC courses offer students opportunities to be part of research-led, highly accomplished teaching environments, grappling with the complexity of American Culture.

Quantitative Reasoning

The Quantitative Reasoning requirement is designed to ensure that students graduate with basic understanding and competency in math, statistics, or computer science. The requirement may be satisfied by exam or by taking an approved course.

Foreign Language

The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating proficiency in reading comprehension, writing, and conversation in a foreign language equivalent to the second semester college level, either by passing an exam or by completing approved course work.

Reading and Composition

In order to provide a solid foundation in reading, writing and critical thinking the College requires two semesters of lower division work in composition. Students must complete a first-level reading and composition course by the end of their second semester and a second-level course by the end of their fourth semester.

Breadth Requirements

The undergraduate breadth requirements provide Berkeley students with a rich and varied educational experience outside of their major program. As the foundation of a liberal arts education, breadth courses give students a view into the intellectual life of the University while introducing them to a multitude of perspectives and approaches to research and scholarship.  Engaging students in new disciplines and with peers from other majors, the breadth experience strengthens interdisciplinary connections and context that prepares Berkeley graduates to understand and solve the complex issues of their day.

Unit Requirements

  • 120 total units, including at least 60 L&S units

  • Of the 120 units, 36 must be upper division units

  • Of the 36 upper division units, 6 must be taken in courses offered outside your major department

Residence Requirements

For units to be considered in "residence," you must be registered in courses on the Berkeley campus as a student in the College of Letters and Science. Most students automatically fulfill the residence requirement by attending classes here for four years. In general, there is no need to be concerned about this requirement, unless you go abroad for a semester or year or want to take courses at another institution or through University Extension during your senior year. In these cases, you should make an appointment to see an adviser to determine how you can meet the Senior Residence Requirement.

Note: Courses taken through UC Extension do not count toward residence.

Senior Residence Requirement

After you become a senior (with 90 semester units earned toward your B.A. degree), you must complete at least 24 of the remaining 30 units in residence in at least two semesters. To count as residence, a semester must consist of at least 6 passed units. Intercampus Visitor, EAP, and UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) units are excluded.

You may use a Berkeley summer session to satisfy one semester of the Senior Residence Requirement, provided that you successfully complete 6 units of course work in the Summer Session and that you have been enrolled previously in the College.

Modified Senior Residence Requirement

Participants in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP) or the UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) may meet a Modified Senior Residence Requirement by completing 24 (excluding EAP) of their final 60 semester units in residence. At least 12 of these 24 units must be completed after you have completed 90 units.

Upper Division Residence Requirement

You must complete in residence a minimum of 18 units of upper division courses (excluding EAP units), 12 of which must satisfy the requirements for your major.

Student Learning Goals

Mission

Interdisciplinary Studies Field is a unique major on campus in that it requires students to engage in a major research project. This enables them not only to engage in qualitative and/or quantitative research but also to organize, synthesize, and communicate – in oral and written form - relevant data and results against the background of evolving theories and key concepts in the social sciences and/or humanities. As student research interests change in relation to larger patterns of social, cultural, and technological transformations, the Department carefully monitors existing methodological courses to allow for ongoing flexibility with regard to innovative key concepts and new theoretical tools.

Learning Goals for the Major

  1. Develop Strong Interdisciplinary Research Skills by creating an ‘course of study’ in the context of which students can explore new phenomena, problems, themes, and issues pertaining to larger social, cultural, technological, and historical transformations
    • Develop research question against the background of at least three disciplinary fields
    • Learn to develop a research proposal, which integrates multi-lingual assets and/or multicultural capacities and/or fieldwork experiences or internships
    • Gain excellent skills to access library services
    • Develop structure of research thesis, argument, and bibliography
    • Gain historical and geographical knowledge of relevance to the research project
    • Link undergraduate research interests to post-graduation plans for graduate school and/or professional life
  2. Acquire Awareness of Methodological Approaches in the Social Sciences and/or Humanities in order to apply interdisciplinary methods and key concepts to the study and analysis of a particular social or cultural phenomenon under conditions of larger social and global transformations
    • Learn about the most important theoretical traditions of the transatlantic Social Sciences and/or Humanities
    • Study central concepts embedded in the dominant social science methodologies and or humanities methodologies
    • Explore new social theories emerging from the larger context of global and technological transformations
    • Participate in the expansion of conceptual innovation and creativity through the exploratory formation of new concepts with the capacity to empirically grasp new social and technological phenomena
  3. Expand critical reading, thinking, analytical, and technological skills acquired in upper division courses through their application in the context of the research project
    • Explore extent, relevance, and limits of traditional conceptual apparatuses to ongoing undergraduate research project
    • Evaluate quality of arguments, ideas, and concepts in support of the thesis
    • Translate ideas and concepts into a variety of environments in relation to the thesis
    • Pursue field work abroad if applicable
    • Integration of technological innovations, networks, and the internet in the expansion of critical acquisition of knowledge in a global, informational, and networked world
  4. Demonstrate organizational, argumentative, multilingual, and communicative skills through successful design, structuration, execution, and presentation of a major interdisciplinary research project.
    • Organization of research data, argument, and theoretical framework.
    • Integration of assets and capacities in the research project
    • Communicate research results on the basis of multimedia technologies
    • Preparation of thesis in print media

Advising

Advising Hours

263 Evans Hall
Monday-Thursday: 9:00am-12:00pm and 1:30pm-4:30pm
Friday: 9:00am-12:00pm and 3:30pm-4:30pm

Courses

Interdisciplinary Studies

ISF 98 Directed Group Study 1 - 3 Units

Seminars for the group study of selected topics not covered by regularly scheduled courses. Topics will vary from semester to semester.

ISF 100A Introduction to Social Theory and Cultural Analysis 4 Units

This course, required of all ISF majors but open to all students, provides an introduction to the works of foundational social theorists of the nineteenth century, including Karl Marx and Max Weber. Writing in what might be called the “pre disciplinary” period of the modern social sciences, their works cross the boundaries of anthropology, economics, history, political science, sociology, and are today claimed by these and other disciplines as essential texts. We will read intensively and critically from their respective works, situating their intellectual contributions in the history of social transformations wrought by industrialization and urbanization, political revolution, and the development of modern consumer society.

ISF 100B Introduction to Social Theory and Cultural Analysis 4 Units

This is a course exploring how we understand the idea of the self in contemporary social worlds. The course shares the presumption that the modern self is a created endeavor. It charts traditional and contemporary understandings of individual identity, the maturation process and the notion of an inner life, the concepts of freedom and individual agency, the force of evolution and heredity, and the influence of social causation. The course stresses the complex interplay between the development of a sense of self, and the socialization pressures at work in the family, society, and global cultures.

ISF 100C Word and Image 4 Units

This course is designed to sharpen our skills in understanding what happens when the world of images and words meet. We will investigate how word/image constellations have been examined in the context of a variety of disciplines, such as cognitive linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, or philosophy and/or we will examine how the word/image constellations operate in a variety of media, including poetry, painting, photography, and advertising.

ISF 100D Introduction to Technology, Society, and Culture 4 Units

This course surveys the technological revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries, it then focuses on the development of the computer and the Internet. The final part examines the impact of the Internet on social movements.

ISF 100E The Globalization of Rights, Values, and Laws in the 21st Century 4 Units

This interdisciplinary course is an introduction to the complex interplay of transnational values, international rights and legal institutions that increasingly govern social, cultural and geopolitical interactions in our contemporary world. Theoretical and methodological tools from the social sciences, jurisprudence, and philosophy will be applied im the analyses of these interplays. A study of rights and norms presupposes not only an understanding of the empirical evolution of rights traditions (including constitutional traditions) in a variety of global regions, but also an understanding of the theories of rights and laws that support such traditions as they are embedded in them (just war theories, peace theories, etc.) The study of rights and norms also requires an exploration of the transformations of crucial international norms and rights due to the formation of supranational institutions and organizations in the 20th century (UN, UNESCO, GO's, etc.). The course will provide the students with an opportunity to place emerging transnational rights institutions into a historical and geopolitical framework.

ISF 100F Theorizing Modern Capitalism: Controversies and Interpretations 4 Units

The focus of this course will be on the various ways the nature and trajectory of modern capitalism has been interpreted. Our stress will be on post-Marxist works of analysis. The initial focal point will be on the work of Max Weber and Joseph Schumpeter, as well as important current debates in economic history and social theory generated by their work. Both Weber and Schumpeter display a strong fascination and elaboration with the work of Marx. The way they analyze Marx is very revealing about the way contemporary analysts seek to understand the capitalist system. We will also consider a number of current efforts that look at the systemic nature of capitalism. In particular, we are interested in how economic historians now see the development of capitalism. We also want to examine the Weberian tradition in terms of the role of culture in shaping economic behavior. Debates about the nature of globalization will also be considered as well as analysis of the changing nature of work.

ISF 100G Introduction to Science, Society, and Ethics 4 Units

This interdisciplinary course will explore whether it has proven possible and desirable to understand society through value-free and positivistic scientific methods as predominantly developed in the transatlantic worlds of the 19th centuries. We shall explore questions that may be applied to the realms of public health and human biology, or to the social sciences generally, including anthropology, sociology, economics, and political science.

ISF 100H Introduction to Media and International Relations 4 Units

How have international actors used media to construct public opinion about salient issues, such as war, terrorism and intervention, international trade and finance, and global warming and resource depletion? The purpose of this course is to introduce students to key concepts, methods, and theories in the analysis of media effects, particularly in the areas of public opinion formation and international relations.

ISF C100C Word and Image 4 Units

This course is designed to sharpen our skills in understanding what happens when the world of images and words meet. Starting with the work from the Western "classical" tradition we will proceed to investigate how word/image constellations operate in a variety of media, including sculpture and poetry, painting and prose, death masks, tableaux vivants, photography, and advertising.

ISF C100G Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society 4 Units

This course provides an overview of the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) as a way to study how our knowledge and technology shape and are shaped by social, political, historical, economic, and other factors. We will learn key concepts of the field (e.g., how technologies are understood and used differently in different communities) and apply them to a wide range of topics, including geography, history, environmental and information science, and others. Questions this course will address include: how are scientific facts constructed? How are values embedded in technical systems?

ISF N100A Introduction to Social Theory and Cultural Analysis 4 Units

Introduction to central theoretical investigations concerning the construction and organization of social life. Using some works from the "classical" traditions of social theory as well as some examples of contemporary analysis, this course will explore such topics as the nature of power and social/historical change, the nature of economic production and consumption, the meaning of difference--racial, sexual, class--the development of institutions, etc.

ISF N100D Introduction to Technology, Society, and Culture 4 Units

This course surveys the technological revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries, then focuses on the development of the computer and the Internet. The final part examines the impact of the Internet on social movements.

ISF 110 Special Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies 4 Units

This course is designed primarily to allow faculty to develop courses which address specific issues, themes, or problems of interdisciplinary interest. Topics vary semester to semester. Students should consult the department's webpage for current offerings before the start of the semester.

ISF C145 Multicultural Europe 4 Units

In this course, we will trace some of the substantive changes and transformations taking place in contemporary Europe in the areas of culture, society, and politics. In particular, we will look at the effects of massive migration flows--due to globalization processes--on the national culture of the core countries and examine the ways in which particular national cultures react to the increasing multiculturization of Europe. The goal of the course is, first of all, to familiarize students with a variety of cultural, social, and political innovations that accompany the formation of multicultural Europe. This involves (1) an examination of the traditional concepts of nationhood and citizenship, and (2)a study of the Europeanization of culture.

ISF 189 Introduction to Interdisciplinary Research Methods 3 Units

This class is an introduction to research methods, leading students through different units built around specific learning goals and practical exercises. The course is designed to teach a range of research skills, including the ability to formulate research questions and to engage in scholarly conversations and arguments; the identification, evaluation, mobilization, and interpretation of sources; methods and instruments of field research (interviews, questionnaires, and sampling) and statistical thinking; and the construction of viable arguments and explanation in the human sciences. At the same time, the course is designed to help students identify their own thesis topic, bibliography, and methodological orientation.

ISF 190 Senior Thesis 4 Units

The ISF Senior Thesis requirement is the capstone experience and final product of the ISF major. The thesis is a sustained, original, and critical examination of a central interdisciplinary research question, developed under the guidance of the ISF 190 instructor. The thesis represents a mature synthesis of research skills, critical thinking, and competent writing. As the final product of a student's work in the major, the thesis is not the place to explore a new set of disciplines or research problems for the first time, but should develop methods of inquiry and bridge the several disciplines that students have developed in their course of study.

ISF 197 Field Studies 1 - 4 Units

Supervised experience relevant to the student's specific area of concentration in the Interdisciplinary Studies Field Major in off-campus organizations. Regular individual meetings with faculty sponsor and written reports required.

ISF 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research for Upper Division Majors 1 - 4 Units

Directed individual independent study and research of special topics by arrangement with faculty.

Faculty

Professors

Tom Goldstein, Professor. Journalism, mass communications, writer, reporter, editor.
Research Profile

Associate Professors

Mark Brilliant, Associate Professor.

Adjunct Faculty

Renate Holub, Adjunct Faculty. Feminist theory, human rights, Arendt, knowledge and morality regimes in Europe, multicultural rights, Muslim intellectuals, critical theory and globalization, intellectuals and rights and states, Gramsci, Vico, Benjamin, Polanyi, Comparative European Studies, evolution of rights and laws, global democratic consciousness, jurisprudence of conscience.
Research Profile

Greil Marcus, Adjunct Faculty.

Srinivas Narayanan, Adjunct Faculty.

Lecturers

Robert Ehrlich, Lecturer.

Lester R Ferriss, Lecturer.

Earl B. Klee, Lecturer.

Kathleen S. Moran, Lecturer.

Christine Palmer, PhD, Lecturer.

Jean P. Retzinger, Lecturer.

Marsha Saxton, Lecturer.

William B Turner, Lecturer.

Gary P. Wren, PhD, Lecturer.

Contact Information

Interdisciplinary Studies Field Major Program

231 Evans Hall

Phone: 510-642-0108

Visit Program Website

Program Director

Peter Sahlins, PhD (Department of History)

259 Evans Hall

Phone: 510-664-4315

sahlins@berkeley.edu

Program Associate Director

Rakesh Bhandari, PhD

270 Evans Hall

Phone: 510-664-4420

bhandari@berkeley.edu

Faculty Adviser

Robert Ehrlich, PhD

269 Evans Hall

Phone: 510-642-0660

behrlich@berkeley.edu

Faculty Adviser

Renate Holub, PhD

269 Evans Hall

Phone: 510-642-0110

rholub@berkeley.edu

Faculty Adviser

Earl Klee, PhD

267 Evans Hall

Phone: 510-642-1344

eklee@berkeley.edu

Faculty Adviser

Gary Wren, PhD

239 Evans Hall

Phone: 510-642-2087

gwren@berkeley.edu

Academic Adviser

Patrick Civello, MS

263 Evans Hall

Phone: 510-643-7691

isf@berkeley.edu

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