Some of the most urgent questions of our time refuse to stay neatly contained. They spill across disciplines, unsettle established boundaries, and demand ways of thinking that are both rigorous and deeply human.
Led by Prof Alexander Johnson, Director of the IIA, the TD Talks series creates a space for open, reflective dialogue around issues that shape everyday life – from well-being and ecology to technology, inequality, and identity.
“Many of the challenges we face today cannot be understood through one discipline alone,” says Prof Johnson. “Questions around well-being, ecology, technology, inequality, and identity overlap in ways that affect how we live, relate, and imagine the future.”
Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, echoes these sentiments: “Thinking beyond silos is ultimately about responsibility: responsibility for people, for place, and for responsible societal futures that we are shaping through today’s choices.”
Why transdisciplinarity, and why now?
The launch of TD Talks comes at a moment of global uncertainty and accelerated change. For the IIA, the series is both a response to this complexity and an invitation to slow down and think together.
Rather than seeking quick solutions, TD Talks foregrounds curiosity, connection, and shared responsibility. It brings together academics, artists, practitioners, and members of the public to explore not only technical and scientific problems, but also the human questions that often sit beneath them.
The IIA is uniquely positioned to host these conversations. Rooted in the arts, the institute values creativity, lived experience, and reflective practice alongside academic knowledge.
“Artists, researchers, and practitioners often approach the same issue from very different angles,” Prof Johnson explains. “That difference creates fertile ground for dialogue that is intellectually engaging and personally meaningful.”
Opening with the Ethics of Care
The inaugural TD Talk, taking place on Thursday 14 May, opens with the theme The Ethics of Care, a topic that speaks directly to the vulnerabilities and responsibilities of contemporary life.
Care, in this framing, extends far beyond the clinical or personal. It encompasses how societies look after one another, how culture and memory are preserved, how environments are protected, and how creativity becomes a form of responsibility.
The opening conversation will feature Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies at the UFS, with Dr Neeraj Mistry, medical practitioner and Research Associate in the IIA, as respondent. The discussion will be moderated by Dr Hester du Plessis, Research Associate in the IIA at the UFS.
“Care felt like the right place to begin,” says Prof Johnson. “It touches every part of our lives. It shapes how we relate, how we support communities, how we protect culture, and how we respond to the world around us.”
“Care offers a powerful starting point for transdisciplinary work, because it reminds us that innovation without ethics, and knowledge without care, cannot sustain society. When artists, scientists, clinicians, and communities enter the same conversation, knowledge stops being abstract. In fact, it becomes accountable, humane, and socially alive,” observed Prof Reddy.
By bringing together perspectives from medicine, philosophy, the arts, and social theory, the conversation invites participants to think about care as an ethical practice that connects the personal, the social, and the ecological.
An open invitation to think together
TD Talks is deliberately open and accessible. The series is aimed at anyone interested in thoughtful conversation – from students and academics to artists, professionals, and members of the public.
The intention is not only to host compelling discussions, but to ensure that ideas travel beyond the event itself.
“We hope people leave with fresh perspectives, new questions, and a sense of connection that continues beyond the room,” Prof Johnson says.
Prof Reddy supported this observation, remarking, “Thinking together across boundaries is no longer optional; it is how knowledge begins to move from dialogue into care, and from care into a more responsible society.”
Looking ahead
Looking to the future, TD Talks is envisioned as a growing platform for dialogue and collaboration, both locally and internationally. Future sessions will continue to engage with themes that shape contemporary life, including technology, ecology, culture, identity, and social change.
By bringing together voices from different sectors and communities, the series aims to foster conversations that are at once critical and imaginative, grounded in real-world concerns while remaining open to new possibilities.
In a world facing increasingly complex and interconnected challenges, TD Talks offers a reminder that thinking together across boundaries is not a luxury, but a necessity.