Teaching social science aspects of space: A transdisciplinary approach

Abstract

Space science and engineering courses are part of the core curriculum at many universities, but increasingly, schools are beginning to offer courses on economic, policy, and other social science aspects of space activity. These courses can provide context for students; helping them to understand the environment in which programmatic and technical decisions are made. They can also act as a concrete method for understanding core social science concepts from economics, international affairs, and other fields. Interviews with individuals teaching such courses show that these courses tend to address multiple disciplinary perspectives, and in many cases, these courses take a problem-focused approach, using social science theories and methods to understand real-world challenges and identify potential solutions. Many also emphasize student engagement and participation. These characteristics align with a transdisciplinary approach to teaching, and this article examines how space courses can be situated within this context. An examination of course goals and teaching methods provides insight into the range of approaches that instructors use to organize and run these courses and how these efforts relate to theories on transdisciplinary teaching more broadly.