Undergraduate Course: Product Design 2B: Designing Social Narratives (DESI08080)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course provides a starting point for critical reflection, by inviting students to reflect on socially-created narratives, how they influence and can be challenged by design Using cultural theory to inform design investigations, students will develop projects that uncover and disrupt the dominant narratives that underpin design. |
| Course description |
In this course, students will investigate critical issues that lie behind social practices and norms that are often taken for granted. They will reflect on how design may contribute to support or challenge these narratives, and will be introduced to design expressions and movements that look beyond the strictly commercial, including Speculative Design, Critical Design, Design Fictions, Design for Debate, etc. Students are expected to develop their own perspective towards a critical issue, and to design an artefact, intervention or installation that embodies or represents this perspective.
This course will:
1. Encourage students to a critical eye towards social conventions and practices that are often taken for granted,
2. Develop student skills in considering the impact of artefacts and systems within broader cultural social, economical, technological and natural contexts,
3. Develop student skills to approach abstract and complex issues through design
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Material costs. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
| Course Start Date |
15/01/2018 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 12,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 30,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Formative Assessment Hours 3,
Summative Assessment Hours 3,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
147 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Students are expected to produce a response informed through an iterative making and researching process that is supported by the combination of lectures, seminars and reflective discussions.
At the end of the course students are expected to present three summative outputs which will be assessed through the three Learning Outcomes, with each Learning Outcome carrying the same weighting:
1. Oral presentation (15min) that provides an overview of research and practice, as well as personal perspective towards a critical issue, developed in response to the combination of lectures, seminars, discussions and individual research. 25%
2. A single artefact, installation or design intervention that incorporates the critical perspective above, and demonstrates an understanding of the theoretical aspects of the course through the control of form, materials and functions. 50%
3. A 600-word document that summarizes the critical issue, main insights from the research, design decisions, overview of the iterative process, and personal perspective developed during the course. 25%
Further information on both the presentation and portfolio (content, format and dates) are available via Learn /Course handbook)
Relationship between Assessment and Learning Outcomes:
Learning Outcomes will be assessed through the three components of assessment. Presentation and documentation will count towards 25% of the final mark each. The final artefact will count towards the other 50% of the final mark.
In each component of assessment you are expected to demonstrate all 3 Learning Outcomes.
For the overall course, each LO is equally weighted i.e. worth 33% of your overall course mark/grade.
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| Feedback |
Formative feedback will be provided in person through 1:1 tutorial meetings that corresponds to the Learning Outcomes.
Formative assessment will be provided at the mid-semester point, and will include:
a. A presentation of all work to date including:
- research on how one particular subject is approached in various media, and by different groups
- initial prototypes that demonstrate exploration of materials and iteration through ideas and a personal perspective towards a chosen subject and design more broadly
b. Online submission of supporting documents
Oral feedback will be provided following the presentations. Written feedback will be given with indicative grades
Summative feedback will be provided following the presentation and portfolio submission in the form of verbal commentary immediately following the presentation, and written feedback following assessment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate ability to critically analyse research material, recognising ways of reinforcing or challenging cultural, social and economical values.
- Demonstrate understanding of the role of design in reinforcing, responding or challenging socially created values, while developing a personal perspective in design.
- Translate critical issues into a designed artefact, installation or intervention that demonstrates sensibility in the application of materials, development of form and mediation of interactions.
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Reading List
Adam, B. (1995) Timewatch: the Social Analysis of Time. Cambridge, UK, Polity Press.
Bastian, M. (2012) Fatally Confused: Telling the Time in the Midst of Ecological Crises' Journal of Environmental Philosophy, vol 9, no. 1, pp. 23-48.
Bourdieu, P. (1977) Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge University Press, UK. Kelly, K. (2011) Clock in the Mountain.
Clarke A. J. (2010) Design Anthropology: Object Culture in the 21st Century. Springer
Dunne, A. & Raby, F. (2014) Speculative Everything. MIT Press.
Gunn, W. et al. (2013) Design Anthropology: Theory and Practice. Bloomsbury
Anything from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation:
http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/books-and-reports
Pschetz, L. (2015) Isn't it to change the way we think about time? Interactions 22(5).
Rifkin, J. (2011) The third industrial revolution: how lateral power is transforming energy, the economy, and the world. New York, Palgrave Macmillan.
Sharma, S. (2014). In the Meantime: Temporality and Cultural Politics. Duke University Press.
Harvey, D. (1990a) The Condition of Postmodernity. Cambridge: Blackwell. Yelavich, S. & Adam, B. (2014) 'Design as Future-Making'. Bloomsbury. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Enquiry : Understand and apply design principles
Personal Effectiveness : Ability to analyse and critique own work and work of others.
Communication : Convey complex information to a range of audiences and situations. |
| Keywords | Design Narratives,Critical Design,Temporal Design |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Larissa Pschetz
Tel:
Email: L.Pschetz@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Karolina Mazur
Tel: (0131 6)51 5712
Email: Karolina.Mazur@ed.ac.uk |
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