Starting from the premise that interdisciplinarity plays a critical role in the research community, Outside the Lines explores the nature and practice of interdisciplinary research in Canada.

Contributors to this collection address the ways in which interdisciplinarity is defined, positioned, and handled by researchers, universities, and critics, and examine such topics as "myths" of interdisciplinarity, postmodern critiques of interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity and research grant allocation, women's studies, Canadian studies, environmental studies, and "emerging" disciplines.

The collection combines a theoretical examination of disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity as forms of knowledge production and organization with practical information about the basic difficulties and conundrums involved in the practice of interdisciplinary research.