Rhetoric of landscape architecture and interior design discourses: preparation for cross-disciplinary practice

In the current reform context, the uniqueness of local disciplinary practices is being forgotten in the race towards cross-disciplinary practice. The rhetoric of the pedagogic discourses of landscape architectural students and interior design students is described as part of a doctoral study undertaken to document practices and orientations prior to cross-disciplinary collaboration. We draw on the theoretical framework of Bernstein and the rhetorical method of Burke to study the grammars of 'landscape' representation employed within these disciplinary examples. We offer a method of investigating how prepared final year students may be for working in a cross-disciplinary manner. The discursive interactions of their work, as illustrated by four examples of drawn images and written text, are described. Comparisons of these examples show both similarities and differences in the students' grammars of representation within their disciplines. Furthermore, however, the findings suggest a progressive weakening of the grammars of the pedagogic discourses that apply to the concepts and procedures of both disciplines. This poses some key issues for educators. It is argued that while weak grammars foster students' deeper understanding of concepts, they also weaken the pedagogic identity and autonomy of their discipline. Strong grammars resist domination and subordination, ensuring the ongoing relative autonomy of a discipline.