Critical Transfeminist Design
Syllabus⇝
In these two sessions, we will tackle an introduction to a transfeminist perspective applied to design and experimental practices. How does it affect operating from a transfeminist perspective in the field of design? Is it possible to design differently? What is Design Justice? What are the ethical issues raised by these approaches? Is it possible to relate differently to technologies and through technologies? What happens to presences? And who is accountable for absences? Who do we relegate to a condition of subalternity? How do we deal with epistemic violence?
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To understand the importance of the place of enunciation in Design.
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To learn about different transfeminist proposals applied to design and experimental research.
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Understanding the importance of accountability.
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To know the basic principles of the so-called Design Justice.
Additional Resources⇝
Barad, K (2013). What is the measure of nothingness? Infinity, Virtuality, Justice. Nº099. Documenta (13). https://deeptimechicago.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/barad-k-what-is-the-measure-of-nothingness.pdf
Design Justice Network https://designjustice.org/read-the-principles
Maggic, Mary.
Estrozine 1 https://files.cargocollective.com/c781072/estrozine-1.1.pdf
Becoming with Funghi https://files.cargocollective.com/c781072/BecomingFungi2.pdf
Preciado, P (2011) Manifiesto contrasexual. Barcelona: Editorial Anagrama
Puig de la Bellacasa, M (2017) Matters of Care: Speculative Ethics in More Than Human Worlds. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press.
Spivak, G. (1988) Can the Subaltern Speak? Die Philosophin 14 (27):42-58. https://archive.org/details/CanTheSubalternSpeak
Baym, Nancy. (2015). Personal Connections in the Digital Age: Digital Media and Society. London: Polity.
Gertz, Nolen. (2018) Nihilism and Technology. London: Rowman and Littlefield.
Guersenzvaig, Ariel. (2021). The Goods of Design. London: Rowman and Littlefield.
Parvin, Nassim. (2023). Just Design: Pasts, Presents, and Future Trajectories of Technology. Just Tech. Social Science Research Council. February 1, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35650/JT.3049.d.2023.
Rosenberger, R. (2017). Callous Objects: Designs against the Homeless (3rd ed.). University Of Minnesota Press. Available online: https://manifold.umn.edu/read/callous-objects/
Vallor, Shannon. Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Verbeek, Peter-Paul. Moralizing Technology: Understanding and Designing the Morality of Things. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2011.
Faculty⇝
Laura Benitez has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and is a researcher, and university lecturer. Her research connects philosophy, art(s), and technoscience. She is an associate professor at the Department of Philosophy at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She also teaches at Elisava. She has served as the coordinator of the Theory area in the Arts and Design Degree at Massana, where she has taught Critical and Cultural Studies. She has been a visiting researcher at the Ars Electronica Center and the Center for Studies and Documentation of MACBA. She has also collaborated with international institutions such as Interface Cultures Kunstuniversität Linz, Sónar Festival (Barcelona/Hong Kong), Royal Academy of Arts London, and the University of Puerto Rico. Between 2019 and 2021, she directed Biofriction, a European project (Creative Europe) on bioart and biohacking practices, led by Hangar in collaboration with the Bioart Society, Kersnikova, and Cultivamos Cultura. She is co-director of the Master on Design For Emergent Futures (MDEF).