The essentialist critique in interdisciplinary studies in the USA. About the process of integrating a common ground in interdisciplinary research

A review of the current literature on interdisciplinary studies in the United States of America (USA) indicates that the notions of common ground and integration, as ontological keys of the interdisciplinary essence, are generating a wide epistemological dispute between two academic fronts: On the other hand, the supporters of the "integrationist" approach, and, on the other, the defenders of the process of "general application" of interdisciplinary studies. Considering both positions, this article analyzes some of the most developed critical formulations regarding the role played by both common ground and integration in the process of implementing interdisciplinary research. First, the text analyzes the narrative keys that have historically sustained the American “integrationist tradition”. Then, discusses the antagonistic critical positions, based on the “generalist approach”. It closes by evaluating what are they, and what do they consist of, the central meta-theoretical assumptions that support both fronts.