Hello, Jean.
Thanks very much for your reply. I wanted to ask you about your first
paragraph, though--were you suggesting drawing from multiple sources? Or was
there a word missing? (some specific item you were saying I should pick up?)
I agree with your assessment that design theories are often critical
theories--or perhaps that design theory is one subset of critical theory.
The categories definitely intersect. Marxism and feminism are obvious
examples of critical theories that have engendered specific ways of writing
design history, of judging design, and of making design. On the other hand,
I do think that there are certain ideas or suppositions that one could call
"design theories" that have very little bearing on, say, literature or
painting. The widespread contemporary notion that objects should be made to
conform to the human body, rather than vice-versa (I guess we would call it
"Ergonomic Theory")--doesn't really have a clear parallel that I can think
of in literature or art or cultural studies. Nor can I think of one of the
standard critical theories that seems to encompass this notion; maybe one
could argue that this is an idea whose roots are in Marxism, but it seems
like a stretch.
What I think is needed--I may take a stab at writing it myself--is a book
that relates "critical theory" to "design theory," and that then explores
the ways in which these theories play out in historical writing, in design
criticism, and in design practice. I agree with you that analysis is only
part of the picture; nearly all these theories have fairly clear activist
implications. I think there are still a lot of designers and design writers
out there who think "theory" is something far removed from what they do, but
whether they are able to articulate it or not, they all have operating
assumptions (theories) that guide what they do and how they do it, and I do
think people with any intellectual pretensions whatsoever ought to be able
to articulate what those assumptions are, give a name to them, and defend th
em. The problem in design, as I see it, is that there aren't always
agreed-upon names for some of the theories that are guiding people's
activities. That's why I think a book of the sort I'm looking for (and now
considering writing) would be useful.
Anyway, I'm enjoying both the on-list and off-list responses--thank you to
all those who've written to me--and I will soon post a list of the books and
articles that have been suggested.
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
[log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jean Schneider" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 2:51 AM
Subject: design criticism query
> 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
> [log in to unmask]
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