In this presentation I explore the relationship between (inter)disciplinarity and student writing in a context of institutional mergers and internationalization. Institutional and departmental mergers have been a long trend in European higher education, as universities attempt to build larger, globally competitive profiles (Curaj et al 2015; Pinheiro et al 2016; Pruvot et al 2015). At the same time, the trend towards the use of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in non-anglophone institutions, as a means of internationalization, also continues (Wächter and Maiworm 2014; Macaro et al 2018).
For this presentation, I draw on ethnographic data gathered from two EMI master's programs in Finland, both of which were formed in order to pool the resources of recently merged institutions and departments. Such programs tend to be designed around interdisciplinary themes or phenomena rather than traditional subject labels, and they bring together students and teachers with not only diverse national and linguistic backgrounds, but often with backgrounds in different academic subject areas. The data was gathered over two years, involved ten students and five teachers, and consists of observations and recordings of seminars and research writing classes, multiple thesis text drafts with written feedback comments, recordings of thesis supervision sessions, and interviews with students and teachers.
The aim of this presentation is to interrogate the concept of (inter)disciplinarity and its role in student thesis writing. Academic writing research has long examined the connection between the text features of a given genre and the purposes of a discipline (e.g., Hyland & Bondi 2006). However, disciplines are of course 'shifting sands', continuously reconfigured in response to changing institutional contexts and always emergent as scholars interact across transnational networks. My analysis will draw on key examples in the data across the two years that illustrate the complexities of disciplinarity in this context and its involvement in students' thesis writing choices.
Curaj, A. t., Georghiou, L. t., Cassingena Harper, J. t. & Egron-Polak, E. t. (2015). Mergers and Alliances in Higher Education: International Practice and Emerging Opportunities. Springer International Publishing.
Hyland, K., & Bondi, M. (Eds.). (2006). Academic discourse across disciplines (Vol. 42). Peter Lang.
Pinheiro, R., Geschwind, L. & Aarrevaara, T. (2016). Mergers in higher education: The experience from Northern Europe. Springer International Publishing.
Pruvot, E. B., Estermann, T., & Mason, P. (2015). DEFINE thematic report: University mergers in Europe. European University Association.
Macaro, E., Curle, S., Pun, J., An, J., & Dearden, J. (2018). A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education. Language Teaching,51(1), 36-76. doi:10.1017/S0261444817000350
Wächter, B., & Maiworm, F. (2014). English-taught programmes in European higher education. The state of play in 2014. Lemmens.
