February 23, 2001

Weighing the Value of Interdisciplinary Work

To the Editor:

Marjorie Garber's essay on discipline envy contains much that is both true and useful ("Coveting Your Neighbor's Discipline," The Review, January 12). She reminds us that looking to other fields is revitalizing and gets us out of old, stale habits; she notes the magnetically creative force of fields that are particularly vital at certain times in history.

Her optimistic view must, however, be balanced by a more critical diagnosis. Finding the intellectual grass