Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies

Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies
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Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies
Part 1: Research Design
My Primary Area of Study (AOS) is Public Administration & Culture Aspects in Health Behavior. This research topic is a complex one because both public administration and culture aspects are intricate endeavors and phenomena by themselves. Public administration deals with a complex environment with various actors included while culture as a “system” entails numerous facets that interact with one another to result in different behaviors. Consequently, an interdisciplinary approach combining psychology, economics, sociology, and anthropology is necessary to understand how the two components impact healthcare to improve public health efforts. My Secondary AOS is Communication Theory & Practices & History of Slavery & Servitude of the Western World. This too is a complex topic in that communication is not only interactive but is also personal and cultural while the history of slavery and servitude of the Western World is tied with trade, empire, colonization and Eurocentric knowledge. Consequently, an interdisciplinary approach combining history, sociology, economy, and anthropology is necessary to understand how the two components relate to the modern world, including healthcare.
Part 2: Working Bibliography
Caruana, R., Crane, A., Gold, S., & LeBaron, G. (2020). Modern Slavery in Business: The Sad and Sorry State of a Non-Field. Business & Society, 60(2), 000765032093041. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650320930417
This source is imperative to my secondary area of study because it elaborates on the history of modern slavery research in business and management, the potential shortcomings, and the likely future deviations that might develop in the subdiscplinaries of business and management. Modern slavery refers to certain forms of extreme exploitation such as indentured slavery, forced labor, human trafficking, debt bondage, and servitude. The author takes an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon in business and management by investigating theoretical developments in the business and management subdisciplines as well as broader disciplines outside the same. This source will be important to understanding how various subdisciplines have tackled modern slavery, the drawbacks of these studies, along with future trends in scholarship of the topic.
Chambers, G. (2017). The Transatlantic Slave Trade and Origins of the African Diaspora in Texas. Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture. /tiphc/research-projects/the-diaspora-coming-to-texas/the-transatlantic-slave-trade-and-origins-of-the-african-diaspora-in-texas/
This source is critical to my secondary area of study because it examines the transatlantic slave trade and geneses of the African diaspora in Texas. The latter has a history that goes beyond Jim Crow laws to include various social, cultural, political, and economic realities that have often excluded discussions related to slavery. It is therefore a critical resource in revealing the events before and during colonial Latin America and the Caribbean in relation to the continuous movement of slaves from Africa and in the Americas.
Eltis, D., Engerman, S. L., Drescher, S., & Richardson, D. (2017). The Cambridge world history of slavery/ Volume 4, AD 1804-AD 2016 / David Eltis,Emory University; Stanley L. Engerman, University of Rochester; Seymour Drescher, University of Pittsburgh; David Richardson, University of Hull. Cambridge University Press.
This source is critical to my secondary area of study because it examines the history of slavery as a pervasive human institution across different periods and regions, from its earliest emergence in history to the present day. Written by a team of international scholars and experts in the field, the book provides extensive information on the origins of the transatlantic slave trade up to the eve of the Civil war. Not only does it provide a critical survey of the history of slavery in the world, and particularly in America, but it also provides critical evidence of some form of the institution in the present day.
Handler, J. S., & Reilly, M. C. (2017). Contesting “White Slavery” in the Caribbean. New West Indian Guide, 91(1-2), 30–55. https://doi.org/10.1163/22134360-09101056
This source is vital to my secondary area of study because it examines the sociological distinctions between slavery and servitude and how conflating the two tends to deflect the anguish of millions of Black slaves and their descendants. 17th century reports of European indentured servants suffering mistreatment as badly as, or even worse than, enslaved Africans have resulted in an expanding body of transatlantic literature of white slavery. However, a shared sense of victimization is misplaced since chattel slaves were treated markedly different from indentured servants and, therefore, the white slavery narrative poses the risk of discrediting the unique experiences of Blacks and their descendants. This source is essential to unraveling the key sociological dissimilarities between the two forms of servitude and the ramifications of these differences in modern times.
Hyland-Wood, B., Gardner, J., Leask, J., & Ecker, U. K. H. (2021). Toward effective government communication strategies in the era of COVID-19. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00701-w
The source is vital to my secondary area of study because it presents best practices in communications strategy in relation to effective governmental as well as organizational crisis communication. The article posits that effective communication strategy during a crisis must be two-way, involve clear messages, tailored for varied audiences, delivered through suitable platforms, and shared by reputable sources. On the whole, the communication strategy should aim at establishing and sustaining public trust through increased and continuous community engagement. The article is critical to identifying those communication strategies that guarantee long-term success and heightened public engagement during a crisis.
Johnson, S. C. (2020). U.S. Education and the Persistence of Slavery. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 17(1), 5–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15505170.2019.1618757
This source is critical to my secondary area of study because it explores the history of slavery and how the institution continues to manifest in modern America as part of her economic, political, and education foundation. The author investigates how slave trade is woven into fabric of America, particularly in its education system, which has continuously placed minority students at a disadvantage. White power structures in education have endeavored to fix the consistent academic failure of Black students except taking responsibility for racism. The study is therefore resourceful in understanding how inequities in existing establishments, exacerbated by racist policies, serve to perpetuate primeval slavery in modern times.
Kempadoo, K. (2017). “Bound Coolies” and Other Indentured Workers in the Caribbean: Implications for debates about human trafficking and modern slavery. Anti-Trafficking Review, 9. https://doi.org/10.14197/atr.20121794
This source is critical to my secondary area of study because it narrates the systems of indenture in the Caribbean and how Europeans as well as Asians were manipulated into recruiting into forced labor. Indentureship, while distinct in practice and law, predated and coexisted with slavery. This migrant labor system in the Caribbean entailed bounding a worker to an employer in an enduring state of incarceration similar to, but markedly different from, slavery. The article is therefore important to understanding the difference between slavery and indenture and how historical evidence of the latter compares to modern slavery, particularly human trafficking and bonded labor.
Klyukanov, I. E., & Sinekopova, G. V. (2019). Communication theory through the ages. Routledge.
This source is essential to my secondary area of study because it presents communication theory from its inception to contemporary times in a systematic manner. Communication theory and practice are interlinked, resulting in an incre...