Meeting the challenge of interdisciplinarity: lessons and issues from the Grey and Pleasant Land project on rural ageing

Citation

Hennessy C & Means R (2015) Meeting the challenge of interdisciplinarity: lessons and issues from the Grey and Pleasant Land project on rural ageing. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 39 (2), pp. 195-205. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2015.1010147

Abstract
This article reflects on the experience of a large interdisciplinary research team that included geographers in a study of older people's participation in community life in areas of rural Britain. The mechanisms used for facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration around the development of a collective conceptual framework and associated methodologies for investigating aspects of rural community inclusion in later life are outlined. Lessons relevant to geography education learned about the benefits and “messy reality” of interdisciplinary working are highlighted.

Keywords
Interdisciplinarity; rural; older people; connectivity;

Journal
Journal of Geography in Higher Education: Volume 39, Issue 2

People

Professor Catherine Hennessy

Professor of Ageing, Faculty of Social Sciences