PostNormal Times

Peter Drucker: Transdisciplinary Pioneer

0:00: Andrew welcomes guests Bernie Jaworski, who’s the Peter F. Drucker Chair in Management and the Liberal Arts, and Trevor Anthony, who’s a cultural studies PhD fellow.   3:10: Andrew introduces the episode’s thesis: Peter Drucker—generally considered the father of management—is one of the 20th century’s great unrecognized transdisciplinarians.   4:37: Bernie discusses his professional journey, including 15 years as a traditional academic as a tenured professor at the University of Southern California, 10 years as a management consultant with the Monitor Group, and then 13 years in his current position as the Drucker Chair.   8:45: Bernie describes a cornerstone of Drucker’s vision and work: the role of organizations in the functioning society.   11:30: Trevor adds commentary on Drucker’s background and how his experience of the collapse of the Old World in Europe as a youth left him with a respect for results. He connects and contrasts what he calls Drucker’s “constructive” vision with the popular “critical” tradition of the humanities and specifically of cultural studies.    15:35: Following Andrew’s notion of the challenges and opportunities of world collapse, Bernie describes Drucker’s revolutionary contributions to topics such as values, mission, purpose, and ethics in the realm of business in the 1950s—and thus why Drucker considered management a liberal art.   22:00: Andrew prompts a discussion of Drucker’s self-description as a “social ecologist.”    30:00: Andrew, Bernie, and Trevor discuss the essential optimism embedded in Drucker’s work, the practice of management, and transdisciplinary work in general.

Speaking in Codes

0:00: Language and its role in shaping our understanding of the world 10:26: Transdisciplinary studies, literacies, and intersectionality 15:00: Language acquisition and multilingualism 19:20: Language barriers in collaboration, with a focus on institutions and their perceived negative connotations 25:39: Using metaphors to shape understanding of institutions and their impact on society 28:36: Metaphorical thinking, peace, and its evolution in context 32:47: Reclaiming language and redefining terms like queer and education. 35:24: Education metaphors and their impact on teaching and learning 37:00: Education as a community of practice, co-creative and adaptive, with the power to effect change 42:14: Transdisciplinary studies, language, and imagination for problem-solving in post-normal times.

Making History Public

0:04: Host Andrew Vosko and guest Romeo Guzmán, assistant professor of history at Claremont Graduate University, discuss Romeo’s roots in Pomona and El Monte, and then his studies at UCLA and Columbia University. 3:47: Romeo discusses the founding of the South El Monte Arts Posse (SEMAP). 10:00: Romeo discusses his move into public history and the work of public intellectuals in Mexico.  14:00: Andrew and Romeo compare the roles of public intellectuals in Mexico and the United States.  25:00: Romeo describes some specific projects, including Casa Zamora.  30:00: Romeo discusses some of the challenges in the sustainability of public history work. 36:32: Andrew and Romeo discuss the potential for community building through public history work.

Tougher Than It Looks?

0:04: Host Andrew Vosko welcomes guest Patricia Easton, professor of humanities.   1:45: Patricia talks about her tenure overseeing the transdisciplinary studies program at Claremont Graduate University and her background as a philosopher.    4:50: Patricia talks about the evolution of the sciences from natural philosophy into various branches and sub-branches connected by bridge laws.    8:51: Patricia talks about the breakdown of bridge laws in the attempt to connect the sciences to the humanities, such as history, as they were forced to acknowledge the complexity of the material world.    9:57: Andrew and Patricia discuss the role the Second World War played in advancing the need and practice of applied—transdisciplinary—knowledge.    12:28: Andrew considers the roots of transdisciplinarity in Jean Piaget.    14:45: Andrew and Patricia discuss synthesis as a key aspect of transdisciplinary work.   20:16: Patricia discusses her students’ processes for coming to grips with so-called “wicked” problems.    25:00: Patricia discusses a case study featuring the integration of the arts and public health initiatives.    26:48: Andrew and Patricia discuss the arts as knowledge generation.   36:12: Andrew brings up the moral and ethical dimension of transdisciplinary work.   38:08: Patricia talks about the challenges and complexity in achieving work for the public good.   41:55: Andrew talks about the transdisciplinary mindset that results from the recognition of the complexities involved in “wicked” problems, ethical research, etc.    47:47: Andrew and Patricia talk about who put the trans in transdisciplinarity, and why.

Everything is Connected

0:04: Host Andrew Vosko welcomes guest Jeff Macias, professor of practice at Arizona State University who specializes in supply chains and logistics, and who’s also a PhD student at Claremont Graduate University. 2:11: Jeff describes the concept of interconnectivity and the art and science of supply chains.  4:55: Jeff talks about the bigger picture of supply chains from a strategic perspective and the lessons learned from COVID-19. 6:32: Jeff talks about how he got hooked on supply chains as an undergraduate.  10:15: Andrew and Jeff discuss the pivot toward pro-social concerns and the ethical side of supply chain management.  13:04: Andrew and Jeff discuss the value of transdisciplinarity in supply chain management. 18:31: Andrew and Jeff unpack the term future-proofing. 33:39:  Andrew and Jeff consider the opportunities and challenges posed by AI.  43:45: Andrew and Jeff discuss the role of supply chain management in advancing sustainability.