From the Margins to New Ground : An Autoethnography of Passage between Disciplines PDF

The authors, two sociologists,discover, follow-up, examine, and make sense of the cross-roads where thesocial and life sciences meet, surprised by the emergent story which theysimultaneously witness and document. Together, they focus on Lea Hagoel’sprofessional path as a medical sociologist fitting in with bio-medicalscientific work patterns of a multi-disciplinary team of physicians, nurses,bio-statisticians, IT personnel, molecular biologists, andmanagerial-administrative team members. Lea shared her experiences withDevorah, and what developed into this book consists of the story itself – theunfolding of events as observed and described by Lea who tells what it was likefor a sociologist. Her story unfolds in the context of the ongoing dialoguewhich lasted more than two decades and turned into an autoethnography à deux. Finally, the ethnographers offer insights into the world of biology andmedicine, into women’s lives, into being a native in a disciplinary culture,and into transdisciplinarity.

In three parts, the book describesand theorizes the quest of a medical sociologist for transdisciplinarity. PartI explores the theoretical background, Part II presents the story of differentstages in Lea’s experiences tracing the trajectory of her growing professionalrepertoire and discovering the practical meaning of how cross-disciplinaryknowledge affects her performance as a researcher in the organization withwhich she is affiliated. Part III draws conclusions about what moving betweendisciplines can mean for a researcher.