Block Seminar Design Theory 5th semester

Lecturer:
Dr. Joëlle Bitton

The module takes place over 1 week, from 31.08.2020 to 04.09.2020, from Monday to Friday, 9.30-17.00 in room 4.T09.

Topic

Design and Technology share a similar destiny: imbued with the roles of solving problems, characterised by an expectation that they can change any situation for the better.
But what if this is an illusion?

With the society at large becoming more aware of issues related to top-down decisions and techno-centric solutions such as large-scale surveillance, ecological dooms and oppression of civic rights, we have the responsibility and the opportunity to rethink the place of design and technology.
What if we should reboot our mindset for design methods and technological tools to become truly inclusive?

Objectives of the course

The aim of the seminar is to reflect on the roles we attribute to design and technology currently, how it was set in pop culture narratives and how we could ‘reboot’ the disciplines in education to include urgent societal questions. The seminar is structured as a dialogue and the students will work on certain questions themselves. In the end, a one-page website should be created to showcase a proposal. 

In this course, we will look at a range of aspects:

• the hopes and fears that technologies of the 19th century generated and that are still prevalent nowadays

• the past ideas of futures and whether they happened or not

• pop culture references that support those narratives

• feminist & non-Western perspectives

• ways to move forward in education of the design discipline

Structure

The class will be structured around discussions, lectures, presentations of film and literature materials and in-class exercises.

Deliverables

• Final Work: The format and platform of the final outcome will be decided with the students- it will be in any case an online representation of your reboot ideas (possibly 1-page website, video, or use of hosting platform such as SnapChat). Your work needs to be in adequation with the intention and the process. The collection of work from each student will constitute together an online exhibition.

• Reading response notes: short remarks should be written on each paper provided that capture learning points and possible critiques.

Expectations and Gradings

Grades will be based on exercises, class participation and final work. 
Contributing to constructive group feedback is an essential aspect of class participation. 
Regular attendance of 80% is required. Arriving late on more than one occasion will also affect the grade.

Final work 50% 

Exercises/reading assignments 30% 

Class participation 20% 

Any assignment that remains unfulfilled receives a failing grade.  

Timetable

Literature/References

• To prepare for Monday 31.08:
  Carolyn Marvin. 1990. When Old Technologies Were New. Thinking About Electric Communication in the Late Nineteenth Century. Oxford University Press.
  1st chapter. "Inventing the Expert. Technological Literacy as Social Currency" (pp.9-32)