What It's Like to Take an Interdisciplinary Class at Emory

When I first entered business school I remember reading an article about a class that would be offered that fall called "The Ferguson Movement - Power, Politics, and Protest." I remember being surprised that the university offered a course that could easily become controversial but was impressed that such a space to learn about issues not typically discussed in the classroom existed. I assumed that this was something in the law school or the political science department and was even more surprised to find that it was an interdisciplinary seminar. I hadn't heard anyone mention such offerings when I was recruiting at Emory and I had definitely not seen anything like that at my undergraduate institution. Though I was disappointed to see that the Ferguson class wasn't on the course slate every semester or year, I had already decided I needed to keep an eye out for another course that brought together students from multiple backgrounds.

This spring, the opportunity presented itself with Eating Ethics. Having grown up helping out my father's restaurant business and planning to go into the food industry upon graduation, this class definitely was in my wheelhouse as far as interests go. I was excited to come class and see students from Oxford campus, the nursing school, the law school, and what we at the bschool call "big Emory."

The first few classes, students primarily clung to their classmates from their programs. As we continued through the course and people began to get to know their teammates (and through some prompting from the professor), people began to branch out and get to know those around them.

I really felt as though the multiple perspectives in the room created such deeper thinking. As we discussed innovation within the industry, I would be amazed at something while others offered their criticisms. For example, as we discussed Amazon Go, I was thinking, "Wow, they are really transforming an existing market, that is so cool!" While one of the law students responded, "This is a slippery slope, if consumers get comfortable with facial recognition at grocery stores, who knows where facial recognition could be deemed acceptable."

The opportunity to leave the business school bubble and meet people from all different background was also amazing. Everyone at Emory is so impressive and has such different aspirations in life. In the bschool it is pretty predictable - people want to be consultants, i-bankers, or brand managers. In this class I had the opportunity to meet aspiring chefs, food entrepreneurs, real-estate lawyers, and OB-GYN nurses.

This semester has been a truly unique experience in my time here at Emory and one that I'm not likely to forget. Though I have a love for food and am biased towards this class, I would definitely recommend that everyone try to take at least one interdisciplinary seminar.