Paul Conway

Dr. Sullivan

Senior Seminar

March 8th, 2017

Interdisciplinary Paper

The world is connected in numerous ways, through communication, culture, people, and

many other phenomena. The term interdisciplinary follows this connection as being defined as

combining or involving two or more academic disciplines or fields of study by dictionary.com

(2017). Raising my personal awareness through different academic courses led to understanding

concepts such as conflict resolution and the psychological effects of war. Two classes that

exemplified these concepts are War and Pacifism, a politics course, and Modern Irish Literature

and Culture, an English course. Although I took these classes at different points in my academic

career, both influenced my understanding of the term interdisciplinary and how it links multiple

concepts and theories. Using the theories discussed in War and Pacifism, I could better

understand the psychological post war effects on the people of Ireland from Modern Irish

Literature and Culture. My Public Relations major ties into the interdisciplinary connection of

the two courses by giving insight to the interpersonal communication between the Irish people

and oppressors and each sides belief in war and pacifist theories.

The first course I selected to better understand the term interdisciplinary is titled War and

Pacifism. Dr. Cochran, the instructor of this course, describes the class as This course uses a

wide variety of original writings to examine the nature and causes of war, theories of the just
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war, the pacifist critique of war, and the practice of nonviolence as an alternative to war.

Students completed three essays for the course questioning their ethical foundation and

theoretical decision making skills. The course focused heavily on theories from an outside

perspective. Theories were discussed in class with students utilizing real-life examples of history

to support their statements.

While Modern Irish Literature and Culture discussed theories in class, the course

provided many personal stories involving the warfare of Ireland. Dr. Auge, the instructor of this

course, describes this class as:

Through the reading and discussion of selected 19th and 20th century Irish literary

works, students in the course will explore various essential aspects of Irish communal life

in order to apprehend the continuity and transformation of Irish culture over the last two

centuries. Topics covered will include family structure, religious practice, economic

conditions, education, attitudes toward land and language, relationships between the

colonized and the colonizers, between classes, between sectarian groups.

The instructor provided readings throughout the semester to give different points of views to

understand the culture of Ireland. The second half of the semester studied the relationship

between the colonized and the colonizers which included many stories on the warfare in Ireland.

Stories of the Irish people connected to the theories of War and Pacifism with each person or

community reacting differently to the oppression on the country by the English throughout

multiple centuries.

War connects nations but destroys the relationships, while peace still connects but builds

each other stronger. Lectures throughout Dr. Cochrans class reflected this lesson and real-life
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examples can be witnessed in history between England and Ireland throughout the 20th century.

The two nations developed a relationship that oppressed the Irish for many years through violent

actions. Once peaceful solutions finally arose, the Irish separated from the oppression to

independence. As England and Ireland grew peacefully throughout the years, the relationship

strengthened and benefited both parties. The Irish could still maintain their culture and the

English no longer violently oppressed the Irish citizens. Reading the stories of Ireland after the

independence movement, voices carried joy and happiness in peaceful communities. These

emotions stemmed from the practice of nonviolence in the small island in Europe.

The theme of global identity reflects how people would react to taking the two different

courses. A focus of global identity is putting the community of the world first before a nation or

place in ones life. War destroys relationships between nations and promotes personal

communities before the world. Peace often is the positive relationship between nations and

promotes the idea of global identity. Readings over Gandhi in War and Pacifism influenced the

theme of global identity by seeing the world work together to help the people of India. The same

nonviolent strategy utilized by Gandhi in the early 20th century was utilized by the Irish people in

the middle of the 20th century. Learning about both these historical events leads to an

understanding how nations are greatly influenced by one another in the world.

The significance of communication is a foundation to any interaction with another

individual. With these courses revolving around a global perspective, intercultural

communication is critical to success for both parties. The Public Relations major at Loras

College created a foundation of intercultural communication and listening and researching other

cultures before communicating with them. A language barrier might present itself when working
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with different nations and that miscommunication can present unnecessary difficulties if

consulted beforehand.

Persuasion is another large skill that must be utilized to work in different cultures

aspiring for peaceful actions. People hold alternate opinions to nonviolence and individuals need

to be persuaded without coercion to pursue peace. Persuasion, a fundamental course in the

Public Relations major, focuses on the use of different methods to convince and individual or

nations of a new course of action.

Loras College strives to provide a liberal arts education to all of its students with

interdisciplinary courses. These courses complement each other by drawing on identical themes

to explain a complicated idea. The insight given in the interdisciplinary courses teach students to

look at different perspectives to ideas and the use of the Public Relations major assists with

communicating these ideas. This understanding can be applied outside the classroom to think

critically and open-mindedly in an organization.

Overall, Loras College offers a unique opportunity to inspire students to think from

alternate points of view. Many courses overlap with the interdisciplinary education on either

theoretical views, discussions, or lectures. War and Pacifism and Modern Irish Literature and

Culture reflect how theoretical views can lead to a better understanding of historical events and

personal current emotions. I will understand how to incorporate my Public Relations major to

successfully communicate with cultures in the future. Critically thinking about the relationships

between courses will lead to success outside my education and in the future working world.
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References
Interdisciplinary. (n.d.). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved March 5th, 2017 from

Dictionary.com website http://www.dictionary.com/browse/interdisciplinary