[ISEA2020] Paper: Mauricio Mejía, Roger F. Malina, Yumeng Xie & Alex García Topete — Translating disciplinary practices for trans-sentient collaboration

Abstract

Keywords: Transdisciplinary collaboration, translation studies, knowledge translation, disciplinary translation, heuristics, art-science

This paper is an inquiry about how the field of translation studies and translation-related issues could provide good practices for enabling successful transdisciplinary collaborations. The focus is on transdisciplinary practice and research, which bridge experts in very different disciplines that do not share success criteria, exact methodologies or dissemination methods. We argue that either disciplinary translators or collaborators with disciplinary translation skills will support better transdisciplinary outcomes. After reviewing literature and reflecting on diverse translation concepts and experiences, we developed 10 preliminary heuristics that collaborators from art and sciences can use to improve teamwork with transdisciplinary outcome goals. This paper is also an experiment in language and transdisciplinary translation and collaboration. The background of the authors includes design, astrophysics, education, and art.

  • G. Mauricio Mejía is a designer, scholar, and educator. He is an associate professor of design at Arizona State University, USA. His work focuses on design for transformation, change, transition, and futures. He explores emergent and strategic design practices such as visual sense-making, interaction design, service design, organizational design, and design futures. Dr. Mejía has published works in visual communication, interaction design, human-computer interaction, transdisciplinary collaboration, and design for change and transformation. He has 15 years of teaching experience in design programs in Colombia and the USA. He received a PhD in Design from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and a Master of Design degree from the University of Cincinnati. Mauricio was co-director of ISEA2017.
  • Roger F. Malina is an astrophysicist, editor-publisher, and Distinguished Professor of Art and Technology and Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Dallas, USA. He is the Founding Co-Director of the ArtSciLab, a transdisciplinary research lab focused on hybrid knowledge production, experimental publishing, design, and education.
  • Yumeng Xie is a PhD student in Design, Environment and the Arts of Arizona State University, USA. She has her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts in Environmental Design. Yumeng had interdisciplinary collaborative design work experience in China. Currently, her research interests are transdisciplinarity in design education, collaborative design, team science, participatory design, and sustainability.
  • Alex García Topete is a writer-filmmaker, entrepreneur, researcher, and McDermott Graduate Fellow in the PhD program of the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication of the University of Texas at Dallas, USA. His research focuses on transdisciplinary intelligence, knowledge management, and collaboration methodologies, particularly as they relate to the creative industries and their relationship to technology, innovation and knowledge production, social impact, and diverse publics.