Regardless how specialized one may become, the road to success is frequently a collaborative one, in any field. This collaboration requires efficient communication, which is where there is fall-out with individuals who are educated in a specialized manner, otherwise creative breakthroughs are stifled.
Each field, over the years, has come up with vocabulary that exclusively they use, and newcomers must be taught this jargon as a basis for their knowledge. With other fields not using the same words as another, unnecessary roadblocks appear. Concise and clear communication is conducive to a positive experience between collaborators, as well as a beneficial end product.
On page 79, Repko mentions, “interdisciplinarity has produced some of the most interesting intellectual developments in the humanities over the past few decades”, which makes sense because interdisciplinarity by nature is collaborative in the first place. Without open lines of communication, unobscured by jargon, communication slows to a crawl, if not completely stopping.
If this lack of understanding begins to hinder communication, it will likely lead to other issues, such as tunnel vision and not acknowledging other perspectives that are involved ina given situation. Pertaining to this, Repko included on pages 68 and 69, “Without a general education, human beings tend to be somewhat parochial….nor are we inclined to see a problem from other perspectives….Interdisciplinary studies provide an approach in which such skills become habits of mind; they fall naturally out of the interdisciplinary process.” which I think eloquently explains the shortcomings of disciplinarity.
One thing I personally believe it is important to also take away from chapter four is although individuals have been noticing flaws in specialization for centuries, it is efficient until a certain point. Having disciplines so far separated by jargon leads them to be unable to imagine parallels from activities in their own fields, which causes a complete disconnect. This is where the flaws of strict disciplinary studies lie.
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A nice summary of Repko, and a nice flourish at the end where you really put it into your own words!