




































[Expositions 6.2 (2012) i–ii]  Expositions (online) ISSN: 1747–5376 

Editors’ Preface 

John A. Doody, Gregory Hoskins, John-Paul Spiro 

 

 

This journal is called Expositions: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities. The first part of 

the title (chosen by our founding editor, Peter Busch) derives from St. Augustine’s Expositions of 

the Psalms. The name seemed appropriate as the journal is published by an Augustinian 

university and would be based on the interpretation of classic texts. The second part of the title, 

“Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities,” has meanings both obvious and elusive – in 

particular, that buzzword, interdisciplinary. Attempting to define this term can be like going 

down a rabbit-hole.  

 

When a historian discusses literary and philosophical texts while describing the spirit of an era, 

and a theologian considers the social and political context of a sacred book while employing 

literary techniques of interpretation, and a literary critic deploys terms borrowed from 

anthropology and evolutionary biology, this is all happily interdisciplinary and, by now, 

commonplace. If an academic discipline is a system or collection of methods and practices, then 

we all have plenty to learn from one another. So long as there are more approaches ready to 

hand, there is more work to be done. A discipline can be like a martial art or a form of yoga, a 

series of moves. 

 

However, interdisciplinarity can all too often mean “going on a holiday,” becoming a dilettante, 

losing all scholarly rigor. Too often this involves a well-trained scholar in a particular academic 

field choosing to write a light piece about a favorite novel or film or television show, or making 

a strong claim about a historical period or political institution or social movement without doing 

the necessary spadework. We do our best at Expositions to avoid publishing such work, 

provocative though it may be.  

 

The real question is, What is good interdisciplinary work? We hope that the varied contributions 

of this, our Fall 2012 issue, provide some answers. Here, in a stimulating and refreshingly direct 

interview with Alasdair MacIntyre, one can learn that “[i]t is the task of any worthwhile 

university not just to educate in particular disciplines, but to enable its students to understand 

how each discipline contributes to an overall understanding of the human condition and so to 

become reflective.” One can contrast the various responses to Daryn Lehoux’s daring new book 

on Roman science, seeing not only how it may transform our understanding of the Romans but 

of the scientific enterprise itself and the epistemological assumptions of it. One can gain fresh 

insights into Cervantes’ Don Quixote and consider the objections to Brad Gregory’s sweeping 

claims about the origins of contemporary secularism in the Protestant Reformation. Finally, 

following up on our well-received “Overheard in the Academy” about the Future of Classical 

http://expositions.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/1452/1314
http://expositions.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/1452/1314
http://expositions.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/1454/1316
http://expositions.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/1455/1317
http://expositions.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/1456/1318
http://expositions.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/1457/1319
http://expositions.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/1457/1319
http://expositions.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/1458/1320
http://expositions.journals.villanova.edu/article/view/1458/1320
http://expositions.journals.villanova.edu/issue/view/67


Editor’s Preface  ii 

 

Studies, we now offer a new “Overheard” on The Future of the English Department, where one 

can discover how the study of English literature and the teaching of writing have been 

profoundly affected by technology, political advocacy, the diversification and corporatization of 

the university, and inherent paradoxes within its own conceptual framework. 

 

Needless to say, we are deeply indebted to Alasdair MacIntyre for granting us an interview, and 

special thanks must be given to Liam Kavanagh for conducting it. Jacqueline Feke was the 

principal organizer of the “Academic Roundtable” on Lehoux’s book on Roman science. Janine 

Utell assembled and coordinated the “Overheard in the Academy” on the Future of the English 

Department. Natalie Zullinger provided sustained editorial assistance. We are fortunate to have 

such people associated with our journal. 

http://expositions.journals.villanova.edu/issue/view/67

