Social design as violence

dc.contributor.advisorGorman, Carmaen
dc.contributor.committeeMemberLee, Gloriaen
dc.contributor.committeeMemberGunn, Joshuaen
dc.creatorNasadowski, Rebecca Shannonen
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-06T18:12:58Zen
dc.date.available2015-11-06T18:12:58Zen
dc.date.issued2015-05en
dc.date.submittedMay 2015en
dc.date.updated2015-11-06T18:12:59Zen
dc.descriptiontexten
dc.description.abstractFaculty in art schools, colleges, and universities have increasingly begun institutionalizing and professionalizing "design for good" in their curricula. Students are currently being taught that social design is good--or at least preferable to working for large corporations--but are not being urged to question this feel-good assertion. When the trendy phrase "design for good" is used, for whom is it good? Though social design can result in powerful, laudable work, it often escapes critical scrutiny--particularly in educational settings--for two reasons: 1) by default, many consider non-commercial (broadly defined) work de facto virtuous and thus assume that any and all partnerships with non-profit organizations, for example, must be ethically commendable; and 2) many consider good intentions sufficient and do not inquire about actual effects and consequences. My thesis work proposes that social design is just as ethically fraught as other kinds of design, if not more so, as any unintended harmful consequences of projects lie unnoticed and unchallenged under the guise of "doing good." Social designers' analyses of sociopolitical dynamics and histories of conflict are often thin. In some instances, their projects may actually enact violence, maintaining imbalances of power and perpetuating the oppression of the very individuals and communities they try to serve. I argue that insights regarding power, state control, and privileges afforded by race, class, and gender should form a critical foundation for designers seeking to work in this field. If designers and design educators are serious about design providing a "social good," it is essential that they broaden their scope of analysis and critique to include the insights and strategies that activists and academics in other fields can offer.en
dc.description.departmentDesignen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifierdoi:10.15781/T2SW52en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/32280en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.subjectSocial designen
dc.subjectDesign for social impacten
dc.subjectSocial changeen
dc.subjectCritical designen
dc.subjectSocial practiceen
dc.subjectDesign activismen
dc.subjectFeminist theoryen
dc.subjectViolenceen
dc.subjectPoweren
dc.subjectPrivilegeen
dc.subjectIntersectionalityen
dc.titleSocial design as violenceen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.departmentDesignen
thesis.degree.disciplineDesignen
thesis.degree.grantorThe University of Texas at Austinen
thesis.degree.levelMastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Fine Artsen

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