Interdisciplinary Science Reviews

Interdisciplinary Science Reviews is a well-established forum where interdisciplinary research between the natural sciences, the arts and humanities is reviewed and discussed. ISR publishes work which explores the nature, possibilities and challenges of interdisciplinary research and practice with the aim of promoting constructive dialogue between and across multiple fields of study.

ISR's purpose is not to say what interdisciplinarity is but to exhibit what happens when researchers start from one discipline and expand into others. We look for research that attempts to find or negotiate mutually comprehensible terms between different intellectual cultures, making as explicit as possible the different assumptions inherent to them. We acknowledge that interdisciplinary research is singular neither in method nor standpoint but fundamentally diverse. Therefore, we seek not to reify 'interdisciplinarity' as an unquestioned good, but rather to provide a venue for conversations that struggle to find homes in strictly disciplinary spaces. Likewise, ISR stretches 'science' to the limits of scientia ('knowledge'), exploring the work of many disciplines from multiple perspectives. The aim is not the convergence of disciplines, or a unified science, but conversation that respects as well as illuminates disciplinary differences. The similarities, where they hold under rigorous examination, are where we begin, not end.

A submission to ISR must be proactive in its pursuit of interdisciplinary dialogue. Submissions that merely take a concept, theory or technique from one field and uncritically apply it to another without unpacking its assumptions and considering the implications will be rejected. Because of ISR's interdisciplinary audience, submissions need to use language that is easily grasped by readers outside the author's discipline.

ISR's cover image, 'Two men discussing coming hunt' (1961), by Inuit artist Qabaroak Qaisiya of Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset), Nunavut, Canada*, communicates what the journal promotes: the collaborative attempt to communicate and make real across that which separates (and therefore nurtures) separate disciplines. Qaisiya's conjuring of the two hunters' shared mind makes us attend to the betweeness of a relation within which something is realised.

The best concrete guide to ISR’s current scope are its issues. Authors considering submission to the journal are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with its publications during the last decade or so. Potential contributors are also strongly encouraged to read the Editorial on the subject, " ISR's Intellectual Project", in 41.1 (2016).

ISR features several different formats:
Thematic issues, which can take different forms. Some engage with broad topics with an introduction that brings their perspectives together; others comprise a core essay to which other articles in the issue respond. Proposals for thematic issues are welcome; please contact the Editor-in-Chief directly with a one-page statement of intent and as much detail about the proposed contents as possible.
Independent interdisciplinary articles that consider a problem or question at length from the perspectives of two or more disciplines and, on occasion, book reviews. Contact the Editor-in-Chief or Managing Editor to inquire about the last of these.