Handbook

This course is the third course within the Design History and Theory curriculum. It builds on the knowledge and skills that you have acquired during the preceding courses. During the course you will explore the ideas of positions in design and in order to do so will examine issues of personal and professional identities through the lens of race, gender and positionalities. Through a series of engaging lectures and tutorials, you will discuss how the modes of designing have changed through time and ask the question “what does it mean to be a designer?” By engaging with contemporary design theories and the histories that have informed them, you will analyse the notion of design agency in the evolution of social, economic, technological and political contexts, both past and present.

This course will enable you to further develop your vocabulary and skills in order to interpret and critically engage with contemporary design debates. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to position yourself and situate your design practice in broader socio-political and cultural contexts.