Undergraduate Course: Design for Ageing (DESI10134)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Contemporary media representations of age in later life, from anti-ageing face cream adverts to road signs depicting bent human bodies, suggest that ageing is unwelcome and unpleasant. Some suggest this constitutes a kind of double discrimination: one that acts against older members of society and also our future older selves. This course will unpick and critique the ways in which concepts of ageing shape the designed environment and in turn how design could re-conceptualise ageing to create more inclusive and emancipatory environments and experiences. |
| Course description |
According to the government the 'future of an ageing population' (2016) depends on a stark choice: either we face a future society which supports and empowers people in later life or one in which we will be "increasingly unhealthy, disempowered and dependent." Which of these futures we want depends partly on how the designed environment enables or disables people to fulfil their lives in a meaningful and positive way. This course will explore how 'old' age is conceived and represented in contemporary culture and will equip students with the skills to critique the normative ideas that underpin these representations as well as the (often unintended) discriminatory effects of design practices. More positively, it will introduce some of ways in which designers are working to re-conceive age in later life and to create more inclusive and emancipatory environments and experiences. The course will support students to explore these issues and to think about how they might develop their own ethically informed design practice and engage with people and /or groups in the community. In doing this, it will provide students with the opportunity to develop their own self-initiated design project exploring an issue that relates to people in later life. The course is of particular relevance to design students but would also be appropriate for students interested in community arts or the sociology of health and ageing and anthropology. The course is delivered through a mixture of lectures, seminars and workshops.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 5,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 5,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 6,
External Visit Hours 2,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
175 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
There will be one summative assessment at the end of the course. This will take the form of a 3,500-word 'Critical Design Proposal' in response to an identified issue relating to older age. This will be graded against all four Learning Outcomes. Each learning outcome is weighted equally and the summative assessment counts towards 100% of the course mark.
There is one formal formative assessment point which is designed to prepare students for the final summative submission. This will take place midway through the course and will take the form of a visual presentation accompanied by a written supporting statement of 500-words plus bibliography. |
| Feedback |
Students will receive written feedback and grades on their formative and summative submissions via the course Learn site. This will be within 15 working days of submission. Note that formative grades do not count towards the final course mark and summative grades remain indicative until approved by the relevant exam board. Written feedback will provide guidance on areas of strength and improvement in relation to the Learning Outcomes.
Verbal formative feedback will be provided on a weekly basis in relation to the ongoing seminar and workshop exercises. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the key theories of ageing and the ways in which they relate to design
- Apply a range of demonstrable research strategies to develop a critically informed design response to an identified issue relating to ageing
- Evidence reflection on ethical approaches to researching with people
- Communicate complex ideas and resolutions through well articulated arguments integrated with visual methods
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Reading List
Anderzhon, J.W. et al. (2012) Design for aging: international case studies of building and program. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons
Boys, J. (2014). Doing disability differently: An alternative handbook on architecture, dis/ability and designing for everyday life. London: Routledge
Higgs, P. & Gilleard, C., 2013. Ageing, Corporeality and Embodiment. London: Anthem Press.
Twigg, J. (2013) Fashion and Age. Dress, the Body and Later Life. London: Bloomsbury
Victor, C. (2005) The Social Context of Ageing. A textbook of Gerontology. London: Routlege
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
To exercise autonomy and initiative in the development of projects.
To be able to employ appropriate research strategies to self initiated projects.
To be able to make decisions on the basis of rigorous and independent thought, taking into account ethical and professional issues
To be able to identify, define and analyse problems and identify or create processes to solve them
To be able to flexibly transfer knowledge, learning, skills and abilities from one context to another
To communicate ideas effectively and in ways that respond to specific briefs and audiences
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| Keywords | ageing,age,design,environment,inclusion,inclusive,representation,emancipation,participation,critical |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Emma Gieben-Gamal
Tel: (0131 6)51 5721
Email: e.gieben-gamal@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Georgia Dodsworth
Tel: (0131 6)51 5712
Email: georgia.dodsworth@ed.ac.uk |
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