Videos recognising and valuing conceptual and linguistic pluralism
A video series by members of the Global Alliance for Inter- and Transdisciplinarity (ITD Alliance) explores the diverse way that members from around the world define and describe the work they do in inter- and transdisciplinarity, as well as other collaborative modes of boundary-crossing research, education and practice. These perspectives aim to highlight the opportunities and challenges of the diversity of our work, encourage cultural and geopolitical understanding, and bring our membership to life through the faces and voices of our members.
Video #1: Recognise and value conceptual and linguistic pluralism! by Ulli Vilsmaier
Click on the video to view on this page or view the video on YouTube.
If you would like to make comments on Ulli Vilsmaier’s video, please do so on the companion blog post published on Integration and Implementation Insights (i2Insights): Recognize and value linguistic and conceptual pluralism! by Ulli Vilsmaier.
In this video, founding member and former Leadership Board member Ulli Vilsmaier of the Responsive Research Collective works with the question: “How can we best recognise and value conceptual pluralism in naming what we do?” Ulli explores aspects of naming and words, including political power and historical and cultural significance, and the diversity of perspectives for naming and describing the kind of collaborative work that ITD Alliance members do.
Background
The ITD Alliance Leadership Board is organizing a video series of 5-minute presentations by members about various aspects of conceptual and linguistic pluralism, including:
- alternative terms for inter- and transdisciplinarity in different countries,
- different ways in which inter- and transdisciplinarity and other forms of boundary crossing research are practiced
- issues that are specifically important to particular cultures.
We aim to present new videos periodically.
The specific stimulus for this series of videos was a 2025 collaboration between the Transdisciplinary Training Collaboratory and the ITD Alliance on a series of five regional workshops that aimed to evaluate the training needs for engaged research (an umbrella term used to encompass transdisciplinary research and neighboring approaches) across Latin America and the Caribbean; Sub-Saharan Africa; Europe, including Turkey and Russia; Asia; and the combined regions of the United States, Canada, and Australia/New Zealand. See the report, “Advancing Engaged Research Globally – Region by Region: Assessing Training Needs”.
One of the most significant results of those workshops was the recognition that the vocabulary and concepts for engaged research are diverse and differ within and among world regions. As a global organization, the ITD Alliance recognizes and values that plurality and is highlighting it in this video series.
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