So, after 20 years of assisting researchers and research students in the discussion of 'PhD studies and related research in design', what might be some conclusions on the current state of the art?
According to Keith Russell, the whole "project" of building an academic discipline in design has failed, and it may even have contributed to the (pernicious, destructive) "feminisation" of universities.
According to Terry Love, the "God-awful standard" of PhDs in "Art and Design" (whatever that might be) still persists, because those PhDs simply don't match up to the more holy standard of PhDs in Engineering Design (which is the type that Terry has).
I'm puzzled by the negativity of their assessments, but I'm not really qualified to comment any further here, because, as Terry pointed out to me recently, I have contributed only 33 posts to the list, whereas the "active members" have each contributed "more than 50 times that". To have made more than 1650 posts each over 20 years, I think he must be referring to the small number of such contributors who have so consistently assisted the discussion and therefore have been so influential in achieving the current state of the art as Keith and Terry perceive it.
Nigel Cross
Emeritus Professor of Design Studies, The Open University, UK.
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