Teaching for more-than-human perspectives in technology design – towards a pedagogical frameworkShow others and affiliations
2022 (English)In: Design for Adaptation Cumulus Conference Proceedings Detroit 2022, Detroit, Michigan, USA: Cumulus Assosiation , 2022Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
This position paper presents the initial steps towards the development of a pedagogical framework on teaching for more-than-human perspectives in design targeting teachers at technology design programmes and courses in higher education. We build on the methodology applied in the [ref anonymised for blind review] project [ref anonymised] and the resulting [ref anonymised] OER (Open Educational Resource). The continuation of the project focuses on developing teaching activities that address more-than-human perspectives when teaching the next generation of responsible technology designers. In recent years there has been a growing awareness towards designing for more complex and holistic systems that include perspectives of nature and the more-than-human. As stated in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to achieve sustainable development we need to address the three levels: people (society), profit (economy), and planet (biosphere) since they are all intertwined. Still, most of the design methods both professionally practiced and taught at technology design education are geared towards humans with particular focus on users through, for example, human-centred design and user experience design. Thus, there is a gap between methods taught to designers and what methods are needed to solve problems related to environmental and social sustainability by also addressing planetary perspectives. This paper puts forward the importance of challenging the dominating paradigm of technology design practices primarily focusing on people and profit, by also including planetary and more-than-human perspectives. Examples of existing practices and approaches for including and listening to more-than-human perspectives are presented. By building on the experiences gained from the [ref anonymised] project, we present a path towards a pedagogical approach for how practices of designing for more-than-human perspectives can be turned into teaching activities in technology design educations. In doing so, teachers become agents of change by creating conditions for students to grow into responsible designers of future technologies and play a role in driving adaptation towards a more sustainable future.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Detroit, Michigan, USA: Cumulus Assosiation , 2022.
Series
Cumulus Conference Proceedings, ISSN 2490-046X ; 9
Keywords [en]
more-than-human, HCI, interaction design, design education, open educational resource
National Category
Human Computer Interaction
Research subject
Interaktionsdesign
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-61483ISBN: 979-8-218-07901-7 (electronic)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-61483DiVA, id: diva2:1776384
Conference
Cumulus Conference Design for Adaptation hosted by College for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan, USA on November 2-4, 2022
2023-06-282023-06-282023-07-03Bibliographically approved