Thinking Social Design

The term Social Design can describe theoretical and practical fields of work which are  located in various contexts, ranging from science to activism, and deal with different scholarly and artistic ideas and methods.

While Social Design needs to resist straightforward definitions, the variety of projects that Social Designers realize all share approaches that integrate artistic knowledge, apply transdisciplinary and collaborative procedures and are concerned with social and urban challenges. In this seminar, we will engage with key ideas and concepts that help us to think and conceptualize Social Design. Throughout the seminar, we will synthesize and condense our reading towards a common shared understanding of Social Design, which we will map and formulate together in the final session.

This seminar is held as a collaborative effort, apart from the first session, each session will be facilitated and documented by a group of students.

Participation in each session is mandatory. You are expected to arrive prepared by having completed the assigned reading for the week. The grading will be mainly based on group-work throughout the semester. Before the final session, each student will hand in a short personal essay (max. 3 pages) on Social Design, based on the readings and discussions of the course.