Course detail
Design as a Critical Practice
FaVU-4DCPAcad. year: 2023/2024
The idea of the course is based on the practice of teachers who, within one team, deal with broad-spectrum research and the possibilities of intervention in specific localities in Slovakia and Brno, especially in the field of urbanism and housing policy. They seek a purposeful mapping of localities in their broad context of relationships which later becomes fundament of possible development scenarios and the subsequent design and facilitation of steps leading to their fulfilment.
An interdisciplinary methodology is needed for this purpose, which combines design, social science and forensic approaches. Teachers have a background in fine arts, design, architecture, and related theories, as well as in social anthropology. Consultants from the field of law and social geography will also be invited to contribute. Students will get introduced to this methodology and will be practically involved, especially in the forensic part of the research. Through data collection and analysis, they will identify opportunities, links and problems in given localities. The obtained data will serve not only to improve the study competencies of course participants, but also the life situation of the actors in selected localities, although it would only be a theoretical improvement at the level of proposals. The course combines theoretical and practical components in design, as well as the reflexivity of design and design practice and its specific tools (e.g. gamification).
Key areas we will touch upon in the course:
- current theories and methodologies of social science and design research
- research ethics
- forensic practice (e.g. Forensic Architecture)
- design theory (HCD, critical and speculative design)
- design practice (proposal of possible development scenarios in the localities in question and steps towards their fulfilment)
- spatial analysis and visualization of "big" data (work in the geographic information system ArcGIS)
- field research / intervention
The increased number of credits for this course (4) corresponds to the time required for the successful completion of the course (field practice, homework, seminars).
Language of instruction
Number of ECTS credits
Guarantor
Department
Entry knowledge
Rules for evaluation and completion of the course
The following conditions are set for passing the exam: presentation of the final project.
In addition to the formal assessment, students will also be given a verbal formative assessment, on which greater emphasis will be placed.
Teaching takes place in a) premises of the Institute of Forensic Interdisciplinary Research, Social Emancipation Design and Architecture (room No. 333, U2, FaVU) b) selected (residential) localities in Brno. The minimum participation is 85%.
Aims
After completing the course, students should be able to think critically about design theory and practice, they should also be acquainted with forensic practice and critically think about the nuances of forensic data collection in the field. They should be acquainted with the topics and approaches of design and forensic methodology to the extent that they would then be able to apply them in their own future practice.
Study aids
Prerequisites and corequisites
Basic literature
Recommended reading
Creswell, John W. a Cheryl N. Poth. 2018. Qualitative inquiry & research design: choosing among five approaches. Los Angeles: SAGE. (EN)
Delamont, Sara and Paul Atkinson. The Ethics of Ethnography. In: Iphofen, Ron and Martin Tolich. 2018. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Ethics. SAGE Publications Ltd. (EN)
Easterling, Keller. 2014. Extrastatecraft: The Power of Infrastructure Space. London: Verso. (EN)
Easterling, Keller. 2018. Medium Design. Moscow: Strelka Press. (EN)
Escobar, Arturo. 2018. Designs for the Pluriverse. Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds. Durham: Duke University Press. (EN)
Fry, Tony. 2017. Remaking Cities. An Introduction to Urban Metrofitting. London: Bloomsbury. (EN)
Grove, Kevin. 2018. Resilience. London: Routledge. (EN)
kollektiv orangotango+. (2018). This is not an atlas: a global collection of counter-cartographies(First edition). Bielefeld: Transcript. Dostupné z: https://www.transcript-verlag.de/shopMedia/openaccess/pdf/oa9783839445198.pdf (EN)
Paez, Roger. 2019. Operative Mapping. New York: Actar Publishers. (EN)
Srinivas, Nidhi. 2015. Towards a Critique of Social Innovation. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings 1. Dostupné z: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291368904_Towards_a_Critique_of_Social_Innovation (EN)
Walz, Steffen P. & Sebastian Deterding (Eds.). 2015. The Gameful World: Approaches, Issues, Applications. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (EN)
Weizman, Eyal. 2017. Forensic Architecture Violence at the Threshold of Detectability. Cambridge: The MIT Press. (EN)
Type of course unit
Lecture
Teacher / Lecturer
Syllabus
2. Introduction to the field and research ethics. Division into groups.
3. Intensive entry into the field, discussion of research topics in relation to current design methodologies, forensic practice, and qualitative methods.
4. Discussion leading to proposals for final projects. Analysis of feasibility, relevance, need, breakdown of design calls into partial steps. Division of competencies.
5. Implementation of partial steps in the field. Reflections and consultations on the implementation with the teachers of the subject and with classmates.
6. Implementation of partial steps in the field. Reflections and consultations on the implementation with the teachers of the subject and with classmates.
7. Final presentation of implementation processes.