David Engerman examines the historical origins and development of “area studies” in the United States as a key example of an interdisciplinary project. He argues that current debates on interdisciplinarity, focusing principally on research output and collaboration, obscure the central role of pedagogy in the development of area studies and the continued relevance of interdisciplinary approaches for teaching and training in today’s academy.
David C. Engerman
David C. Engerman is Ottilie Springer Professor and chair of the history Department at Brandeis University, where he has taught since receiving his PhD in History in 1998. The author of two books on America’s Russia expertise (Modernization from the Other Shore, Harvard University Press, 2003; Know Your Enemy, Oxford University Press, 2009), he is currently completing a book on superpower aid competition in India.