medieval Islam from the urban environment. By looking at this
particular spatial location...intermsofthemixture of different
influences, cultural influences, one could have a very different un-
derstanding about the nature of medieval Islam...Ilikedthe
multi-dimensionality of the project.Partly because they are interdisciplinary disciplines that con-
cern “diverse” populations, fields such as women’s studies, African-
American studies, and ethnic studies struggle to keep from being
pushed to the periphery, or to the bottom of the academic totem
pole. The same is true of other interdisciplinary fields, such as cul-
tural studies.^46 That so much uncertainty remains about how to in-
sert considerations of diversity and interdisciplinarity into scholarly
evaluation underscores the fact that older, more established disci-
plines continue to define the rules of the game, contributing to the
fragility of these fields.
Conclusion
Interdisciplinarity and diversity are among the main challenges that
American higher education faces at the beginning of the twenty-
first century. While interdisciplinarity has been a permanent feature
of tertiary education ever since disciplines began to compete with
one another to maximize their jurisdictional claims, the challenge
of diversity has become even more pronounced since the 1960s, as
various groups have piggy-backed on the hard-won gains that Afri-
can Americans have made toward greater inclusion.^47 While elite in-
stitutions have become more diverse, conflicting visions persist, and
these reverberate in panel dynamics.
Because of the very elite character of academic research, tensions
around diversity may be intrinsic to American higher education,
which itself is pulled between its democratic mission, the pursuit of
Considering Interdisciplinarity and Diversity / 235