Material Culture II
Ufaq Inaam
Design, Theory and History of Design
2026S, scientific seminar (SEW), 4.0 ECTS, 2.0 semester hours, course number S06002
Scientific bachelor seminar for teacher education
Description
Pluriversal Design: Situated Research & Critical Probes
How can design move beyond extractive research models and universalist solutionism toward pluriversal, relational, and justice-oriented practices?
This seminar positions design as a site of epistemic production rather than mere problem-solving. Drawing on contemporary decolonial frameworks, it examines how coloniality persists in objects, interfaces, data systems, and infrastructures, and how designers might contribute to its dismantling.
Foregrounding practice as counter-method, students engage in situated knowledge-making, addressing authorship, extraction, representation, and accountability. Central to the course is the critical reactivation of Cultural Probes: materially grounded, slow, and relational research tools that surface overlooked narratives and embodied knowledge.
Through fieldwork and reflection, students experiment with research practices rooted in reciprocity and care. The aim is not only to critique dominant systems, but to prototype plural modes of design praxis.
Examination Modalities
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Minimum 80% attendance. Attendance to first session is mandatory.
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Active participation in seminar dialogue, group work and collaborative probe development including design and launch process.
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Final presentaions (as a group): Probe kits theoretical context, process, designing, launching and analysis - all documented and showcase. (Presentation date: May 19, 2026) (60%)
- For Written submission (independent): A 1,000+ word reflection (in English) that defines the research context and engages one key theoretical theme from the course. (Submission date: June 19, 2026) (40%)
Comments
This course takes place in English.
The language for written assignment can be in German or English.
Key Words
Plural Design Praxis, Relational Research, Situated Knowledge, Decolonial Frameworks, Cultural Probes, Design Justice
Dates
Tue, 17 March 2026, 12:30–15:00, "Online-Zoom"
Tue, 24 March 2026, 12:30–15:00, "Online-Zoom"
Thu, 26 March 2026, 12:30–15:00, "Online-Zoom"
Tue, 14 April 2026, 13:30–16:00, "Online-Zoom"
Mon, 11 May 2026, 12:00–14:30 Seminar Room 10
Tue, 12 May 2026, 12:00–14:30 Seminar Room 33
Tue, 19 May 2026, 12:00–17:00 Seminar Room 33 (examination)
Course Enrolment
From 02 February 2026, 09:00 to 11 March 2026, 21:00
Via online registration
Curriculum Allocation
Art Education: subject kkp (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/003.80
Art Education: subject kkp (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: IT: Bachelorseminar Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/003.85
Art Education: subject kkp (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 067/003.80
Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Seminar aus dem Bereich Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften 067/003.25
Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/003.80
Art Education: subject tex (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 071/003.80
Art Education: subject dae (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 072/003.80
Art Education: subject dex (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/003.80
Art Education: subject dex (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: IT: Bachelorseminar Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/003.85
Art Education: subject dex (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 074/003.80
Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Seminar aus dem Bereich Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften 074/003.25
Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/003.80
TransArts - Transdisciplinary Arts (Bachelor): Theoretical foundations: Theoretical foundations 180/003.01
Expanded Museum Studies (Master): Electives: Design History and Theory 537/080.24
Media Arts: Specialisation in Transmedia Arts (2. Section): Wissenschaft, Theorie und Geschichte : Kulturwissenschaften 566/208.15
Media Arts: Specialisation in Digital Arts (2. Section): Wissenschaft, Theorie, Geschichte: Kulturwissenschaften 567/208.15
Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften (Master): Electives Area 2: Design History and Theory 568/006.15
Design: Specialisation in Communication Design (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Basics: Theory and History of Design 577/203.08
Industrial Design (2. Section): Design in Context: Theory and Design History 580/202.11
Design: Specialisation in Fashion Design (2. Section): Fashion in Context: Theory and History of Design 584/208.01
Fine Arts (2. Section): Scientific and Research Practice: Media Theory,Art&Knowledge Transfer,Th. of Architecture,Th. and Hist. of Design 605/202.02
Fine Arts (2. Section): Scientific and Research Practice: Free Electives out of Scientific and Research Practice 605/202.80
Co-registration: possible
Attending individual courses: possible