Hi Gunnar and others
I am interested in links between anthropology and design ... and the
design as Margret Mead reference is interesting given that a major
component of her work can be described as the result of a practical joke
played on her by her informants and the community in which she worked.
Indeed Samoan stories relate this deception with great humour. Much
early anthropology is suspect in this way because it tends to ignore the
intelligence and humanity of the Indigenous objects of research and also
was (and in some instances remains)somehow oblivious to the
anthropologist's role as the collector/informant made necessary by,
allied with and embedded within processes of cultural devastation and
social destruction.
Anthropology has adapted becoming in some recent work a tool for the
economic assessment of Indigenous/third world communities and cultures
in terms of socio-cultural capital based solely on potential material
production - a movement in this field that has been linked to
neo-colonial agency in Australasia.
In contrast decolonising methodologies appropriate reframe and employ
anthropological tools to research back examining and revealing some
features of the cultures of dominance. Key symbolic words such as
technical or scientific have been identified in these cultures because
they often signify an enactment of this dominance ... thus Mead's work
on adolescent sexuality in Samoa is early social science for
anthropology while remaining a huge joke for Samoan researchers.
The study of culture, material culture and design and are relational
practices in my understanding ... if we are to study in these areas we
must adopt situated and context relevant understandings. Indeed I would
say that this adoption is the problem of our times ... some progress may
be made investigating epistemic links between design and anthropology.
Norm
-----Original Message-----
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and
related research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Swanson, Gunnar
Sent: Tuesday, 17 July 2007 7:12 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Design as Margaret Mead
Lubomir Popov writes:
> The amalgamation of programming
> and design is often useful, but it is
> also like the amalgamation of the
> professions of civil engineer and
> architect. It is difficult to be an
> expert in both.
There are advantages to multiple-skill practitioners. I enjoy working on
a graphic design project with a good writer but I find that writing and
designing allows me to meld things organically--writing with a vision
and designing with an ear. Something akin to concrete poetry. Of course
the same thing can be said about acting as a graphic
design/photographer, graphic designer/illustrator, etc. (In the past I
might have added graphic designer/typographer to the list but these days
we're all supposed to be that.)
Does anyone have any comments on the advantages or disadvantages of
anthropologist/designers or other researcher/designers vs. teams of the
same skill sets?
Gunnar
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