Specialization

Patricia Clay (pclay@WHSUN1.WH.WHOI.EDU)
Thu, 6 Oct 1994 16:07:18 -0400

John O'Brien writes:
> I wonder what the general thinking on the list is as to if we have
> simply moved too far toward specialization, and if we shouldn't begin
> to encourage more multi-disciplinary work, more generalization and
> more synthesis and theory.

In fisheries work, we are beginning to move in the direction of
bio-socio-economic models and multi-disciplinary work. In fact, I have the
impression that many fields of study are moving that direction today. Note,
however, that if you are trying to keep up with fisheries economics and
fisheries biology to a sufficient degree to talk to your colleagues in those
disciplines, it becomes that much harder to keep up with the latest in
archeology or bio-anthropology or anthropological linguistics. So, when we
talk about specialization, we need to specify what kind: sub-disciplinary or
topical.

Trish Clay
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Dr. Patricia M. Clay, Anthropologist voice: 508-548-5123
National Marine Fisheries Service fax: 508-548-5124
Northeast Fisheries Science Center email: pclay@whsun1.wh.whoi.edu
166 Water St.
Woods Hole, MA 02536 Favorite quote: "So what do you
U.S.A. study? The social behavior of fish?
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