The "Social" in Art and Design Education

Description

This presentation directly responds to the question about the next 100 years in art and design education.

Takeaway

Attendees will learn about social impact in design through myriad examples in design education. They will understand the urgency of this approach, and how they can, in small and large ways, increase the social engagement in their teaching and program curricula. The manifesto portion of the presentation will include a worksheet for attendees to have a template within which to draft their own frameworks.

Abstract

One hundred years since the Bauhaus, a planet in crisis, labor markets collapsing, and yet our design school curricula are as homogenous and recognizable as decades ago. Though most design programs have missions that include social engagement, have they, in fact, radically shifted curricula to prepare thoughtful, responsible, and socially just designers? Is the continuing adherence to the historical foundations of art and design education still being prioritized over meaningful social engagement in design? And does social engagement take place only within a fifteen-week elective or as a Spring Break field trip? This presentation has three parts. The first will provide this critical context and the call for radical curricular transformation. The second will provide examples from the presenter's and other [U.S. and Latin America-based] design educators' teaching. Examples from courses, pathways, and programs focused on social engagement will be shared; and particular attention will be paid to the role digital technologies have played in facilitating the social impact in the examples. The presentation ends with a manifesto-in-progress that can serve as a curricular guide for these next 100 years of design education.