Un-disciplinary: making and staying with the trouble in unstable times

The concept of un-disciplinarity occupies a distinct position in relation to existing terms such as inter-, trans-, anti-, and post-disciplinarity by sitting brazenly between disciplines, without rejecting them outright. Drawing on the work of Iain Biggs, Christina Sharpe, and the becoming undisciplined collective, together with the contributors to this issue, this introductory article situates the concept within a broader intellectual history of un-disciplining as a practice that calls for making and staying with the trouble. Un-disciplinarity operates on (at least) three levels – conceptual, methodological, and material. This is illustrated through examples ranging from queer theory applied to lichen biology, to the concept of quantum entanglement, which has migrated into the humanities, to bioluminescent trees proposed as urban light sources. On a practical level, un-disciplinarity celebrates mis-fitting, invites becoming comfortable with sitting uneasily, and calls for slowing down, and (at least considering) leaving things, such as ecosystems, landscapes and communities, un-tamed and un-disciplined.