10 Years of Teaching and Scholarship on Diversity, Social Justice, and Community Engagement
Welcome to the Interdisciplinary Studies Department (ISD) at Kennesaw State University. With its focus on diversity, social justice, and community engagement, and a structure that encompasses eight different interdisciplinary programs, ISD is a unique department. We teach courses that bring together insights from many disciplines, and we encourage research and engagement projects aimed at solving real world problems, from the local to the global level. ISD is a forward looking department that seeks to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century, challenges that require understanding the interconnectedness of people and ideas. Come and explore with us!
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Message from the Chair
Welcome to the Interdisciplinary Studies Department!
As a department, we are committed to teaching, mentoring, and supporting students, faculty, and staff in a variety of ways. Social justice minded in our pedagogy, mission, and vision, we challenge our students to think critically about history, race, gender, religion, ability, and class. We are deeply engaged in teaching about and researching the ways in which diversity, equity, and inclusion are connected to systemic injustices, and do work that can inform changes in policies to create a more socially just society. Through our teaching, research, and service, we engage with students and the community in several ways. We believe in teaching in the ways that activist and scholar bell hook refers to as “progressive education.” This means that we work to make our classroom communities a “radical space of possibility” and a space to “generate excitement…hear…one another’s voices [and] recogniz[e] one another’s presence.” We view our classes as spaces where we are in dialogue with our students.
We regularly participate in regional, national, and international conferences; lead study abroad programs; and publish in our various areas of expertise. We have gained recognition for our teaching, research, mentoring, and service. We believe that students are at the core of our mission, and we take mentoring students very seriously. We are committed to supporting you wherever you may be in your journey as a student, whether you are an undergraduate or graduate, a major or a minor, or a student who is looking for interesting courses to add to their program.
The department offers the following undergraduate programs of studies: Bachelor of Arts in African & African Diaspora Studies (AADS), Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies, minor in African & African Diaspora Studies (AADS), minor in Asian Studies, minor in Comparative American Studies, minor in Gender & Women’s Studies, minor in Latin American/Latina/o Studies, minor in Native American & Indigenous Studies, minor in Peace Studies, and minor in Religious Studies. We offer the following certificates: Certificate in Diversity and Community Engagement and Certificate in Gender and the Workplace. We also offer some courses in Science, Technology, and Society. Our Peace Corps Prep Program provides a unique opportunity for students who are interested in the Peace Corps to gain valuable skills and competencies before they engage in this lifechanging journey. Our graduate programs include the following: a Master of Arts in American Studies and a Graduate Certificate in American Studies. Students can cross disciplinary boundaries in order to critically engage with the world around them, whether on campus, in the local community, or abroad. Interdisciplinary research is on the cutting edge of problem solving in a number of areas both inside and outside of the humanities (social sciences, sciences, business, education, etc.). Our programs in Interdisciplinary Studies offer students the opportunity to combine their love and interest for multiple areas to create a unique program that they are passionate about.
If you are looking for ways to connect the ideas you are learning about in your various classes; work closely with professors on research or engagement projects; sharpen your critical thinking, writing, and problem-solving skills; find internships that match your academic interests; or simply find new ways to study and work on issues about which you feel passionate, Interdisciplinary Studies is the place for you!
For general information about our department and the program, please send an email to our administrative specialist Ms. Annie Moye at: amoye3@kennesaw.edu
If you are interested in a specific program, please click on the link and contact the program coordinator directly.
Dr. Cécile Accilien
ISD Chair and Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies
Recent News
- Masters in American Studies Welcomes New Program Director
- Dr. Cécile Accilien named chair of KSU's Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
- New Conflict Management Textbooks from KSU Faculty Released
- Kennesaw State's Dr. Santini Has Latest Translated Poems Published
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