Design is a situated practice that both shapes and is shaped by the political, economic, and cultural forces of its time. How do different positionalities reflect the complexity of design in the present? And how can we learn to read, write, and discuss design across differences, without erasing them?

Today, a growing set of critical approaches in design research and practice is challenging design's modern legacy and Anglo-European biases by introducing alternative roles (what design does), ontologies (what design is), and epistemologies (how design is understood). Rather than seeking one “right” definition of design, we will examine how different design theories and practices make particular worlds possible and develop the critical tools to situate our own position and practice.

Methodology

The seminar is organised around students’ own research interests, design practices, and thesis projects. Early in the semester, we will collectively identify key themes and questions to help shape the focus of our readings, discussions, and presentations.

Through weekly readings, response texts, presentations, and discussions, we will engage with feminist, decolonial, anti-racist, queer, Indigenous, and posthuman perspectives on design. Topics may include design politics, design and gender, decolonising design, pluriversal design, more-than-human design, ontological design, and speculative design.