Fission or Fusion

This paper deals with a hyperbolic account of how scientific disciplines came into being and a means for dealing with the establishment of new academic programs. In the past, legitimate academic subject areas have been created by fission and fusion. Fission results when a single field of knowledge is fractionated into two or more fields that are formalized as new departments in colleges and universities. Fusion results from the combining of two separate fields into a single academic department. New departments created by fusion should offer degree programs at the graduate level by establishing requirements that fit the programs rather than following traditional departmental boundaries. Departments should be considered more as administrative necessities and less as a means of defining or protecting knowledge boundaries.