ABSTRACT
It is difficult to pin down a common definition of ‘disciplines’ in the literature, and with good reason. The term, which derives from Latin roots meaning both pupil and teaching, carries multiple meanings. It has associations with the biblical ‘disciple’, which carries that Latin root, as well as submission to authority, punishment, being made to follow instructions, and rigorous selfcontrol. Berger (1970) captures a few of these ideas when he defines a discipline as ‘a specific body of teachable knowledge with its own background of education, training, procedures, methods and content areas’. This 40-year-old definition is attractive: it is broad enough to potentially cover any topic area yet sets clear boundaries between a discipline and a non-discipline.
