Design justice and emerging technologies (course)
What is a better way to teach social responsibility to designers? What about having students try on the judge's robe?
Mock trial, an engaging and familiar pedagogical method within law schools, has been brought into industrial design education, perhaps for the first time. The curriculum of the new Design Justice and Emerging Technologies course invites students to explore critical perspectives on the design of emerging technologies that are shaping—or have shaped—our world. Students reflect on their own positionality and examine how technology can transform society in ways that reflect the dominant values, principles, methods, goals, and key actors within design. Next, they use their knowledge acquired via readings on design theory and other sources to engage in a respectful and oppositional litigation, assuming the roles of prosecuting and defending teams, regarding a concrete case of systemic oppression enabled by design, whether based on gender, class, race, ability, coloniality, and other axes.
To learn more about the course objectives, follow this link.
Course coordinator: Fernando Secomandi —Director of Justice by Design Lab
