Dear Carma,
I haven't found yet any comprehensive book that I could recommend, but I
would suggest that you go and pick up (if you haven't done that before) in
various sources.
Amanda's suggestion (Du Gay and al.) is valuable, and the circuit of culture
is a good primer, but of course, it is 1/descriptive, 2/probably, for some
readers, slightly biased towards French sociology, 3/doesn't open up a space
where you might develop criticism (I mean "action" or "engagement").
Take also a look at one former issue of "Design issues" (IIT Chicago)edited
by Alain Findeli (early 2000, if I remember well). You might find there
stimulating input.
From my perspective, I would suggest that you start by taking a path of your
own, and then go on with it. Taking an anthropological/cultural perspective
on mass-production and object[ivity] (after all, that is what we are dealing
with) is so vast that it is -in my view- more powerful to propose
interpretations rather then analysis. In other words, I believe that we have
reached a level of complexity where it is as interesting -or essential- to
"take a position" (and being able to utter it) as it is to strive for
"answers" (and being able to justify them).
And, as we are on a list about theori(es), I would contend that one valid
path for a design theory that would try to embrace the status of artifacts
in our cultures and the dialectics of the subject(s)/object(s)relationship
can only be a "critical theory" (I am not sure that it makes absolutely
sense in English, but it makes some in French).
Best regards, and have a nice navigation,
Jean Schneider
-----Message d'origine-----
De : PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhDs in Design
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]De la part de Carma R Gorman
Envoyé : vendredi 26 septembre 2003 20:37
À : [log in to unmask]
Objet : design criticism query
Dear list members:
I have been looking--with little success--for a book on design theory and
criticism that is comparable to Terry Eagleton's *Literary Theory: An
Introduction,* Peter Barry's *Beginning Theory,* or Vernon Hyde Minor's *Art
History's History.* Although there are obviously many books available on
both literary and art criticism, I have not been able to find any resources
that deal well--or really at all--with forms of criticism that are pertinent
to functional objects and commodities (such as ergonomics, efficiency,
etc.). I had hoped to find a book on architectural criticism that might
tackle some of these issues, but I haven't found exactly what I'm looking
for there, either.
Can any of you suggest books, or even articles, that sketch out a basic
taxonomy of design criticism? I was initially looking for something I could
use as a textbook in a future course on design theory and criticism, but now
the search has become something of a personal quest for me. So if you
*haven't* ever run across any books like this, that would also be something
I'd find helpful to know.
I'll post the results of this query, so feel free to respond either on- or
off-list (I'm at [log in to unmask]).
Many thanks (and my apologies if you received this query from more than one
listserv),
Carma
Carma R. Gorman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Art History
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
School of Art and Design, mail code 4301
Carbondale, IL 62901
United States of America
voicemail: 618-453-8634
fax: 618-453-7710
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