Metaphor for Interdisciplinary Studies

Interdisciplinary Studies

Personal Metaphor for Interdisciplinary Studies

My metaphor for Interdisciplinary Studies is Times Square train station in New York City. Times Square is very well-known. It is a place that both Americans and international visitors are very much aware of. Times Square train station in New York City is in a centralized location within Manhattan, and somewhat with respect to all five boroughs of the metropolitan area. Times Square train station consists of many different train lines converging in ways and in places that may seem impractical or impossible, yet it works. Most of the trains lines in the city converge in an odd, yet seamless way so that people from different backgrounds, from different neighborhoods and different boroughs can come together to create a unique station that would not exist without the contribution of all the different train lines put together. This is how I feel interdisciplinary studies works.

Interdisciplinary studies work in the same manner as the convergence and combination of lines that compose 42nd Street/Times Square station in New York City. Interdisciplinary studies involves the study and understanding of a variety of fields, industries, interests, and perspectives. Interdisciplinary studies does not exist without several to numerous strands or trains of thought as well as the study of how various combinations of thought can intermingle, intersect, and interact to create objects, thoughts, etc. that are completely the result of those intersections and that would not exist without them.

Intersections and combinations are important when considering Interdisciplinary Studies. Each train line in the New York City Mass Transit Authority (NYC MTA) is distinctive in of itself. Each line is important in of itself and has its own nature or unique qualities. Each line is necessary to compose Times Square. Without each distinctive line, with its own history, types of people, even types of train cars, Times Square would not exist as such. This is the same when considering converging modes of thought and various fields of study that compose Interdisciplinary Studies. Each field is distinctive, and each field is necessary because without each part, I.S. would not exist as such.

My metaphor helps me understand Interdisciplinary Studies from a broader perspective. The trains of New York City traverse the entire metropolitan area, and even lead to upstate and out of state. All of these trains are present and commuters may connect to them via Times Square. Interdisciplinary Studies may seem confusing, like the NYC MTA subway system, but there are places in the city, such as Times Square, where most, if not all the lines converge in one place and in such a way that many mike think is not possible, yet, there it is, famous and glorious.