Folks,
Perhaps one further thought I could add on the matter of research and
practice. I suggested in my previous note that I do have some specific
concerns about doctoral education. One of them revolves around the
difference between traditional doctorates--doctorates in many
traditional fields of learning--and the new doctorates that design could
produce.
We should be mindful of a cultural change that is taking place in
universities--what I have elsewhere discussed as the difference between
"paleoteric" and "neoteric" universities. These are institutions that
are dedicated to the "old learning" or the "new learning." I am
concerned that in the creation of design doctoral programs we may be
tempted to shape those programs around traditional conceptions of the
doctorate. This, i believe could be a serious mistake. It is akin to
the danger we face in bringing undergraduate design education into a
university setting--the danger of diminishing our focus on "making" and
turning design education into yet another theoretical study. Yikes!
Personally, I am looking for design doctorates that seek a path to new
learning.
The problem, of course, is to imagine what the "new learning" will or
could be. There is danger here, too. We may be tempted to develop
silly visions of the doctorate that have very little intellectual
justification or real practical force. But we may also think carefully
and imagine something much better.
In the paleoteric university, theory is prized, practice is tolerated,
and production is disdained and ignored. In the new university, i
believe, we will see theory, practice, and production in a more
integrated and balanced vision. Indeed, "making" could well provide a
new stimulus to theory or practice in other fields--as it has throughout
the past three hundred years in the sciences.
Do we have the strength and imagination to see a new future for doctoral
education in a culture that digs deep silos of knowledge yet cannot find
adequate ways to bring such knowledge into fruitful impact on how we
lead our lives? To me, this is the challenge and excitement of
developing design doctoral programs.
Please do not imagine that all is well in traditional doctoral
education. There is a need for new visions of doctoral education in
many fields, and design could, eventually, provide a powerful
example--if we are thoughtful and careful. This is why I accept so many
invitations to speak at traditional universities where design either
does not exist or plays only a minor role. I am testing new arguments
and learning what issues will exist for us in making our own change from
paleoteric to neoteric design education. And i will add this: many,
many of the institutions where I speak are looking for new models, and
design is seen as one in the making. Let's make our programs well, and
let's make them good.
Dick
Richard Buchanan
School of Design
Carnegie Mellon University
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