Hi All,
I agree with Terry. I think the notion of agency becomes especially useful
when we have a broader and potentially a more relational view of agency.
That is agency as something emerging out of the relationships between human
and nonhuman entities rather than something that entities possess or own
(Karen Barad has some really good papers on this). A relational view can
allow designers to see the interconnectedness of things, and the multiple
sources of influence in a design situation. However, as a guiding concept,
it is not very easy to apply in a practical sense. However, it is possible
to use it as a sensitizing tool to develop a less deterministic, less
prescriptive, and more-than-human approach to design. My earlier research
on this topic offered some design qualities (relationality, visibility,
multiplicity, accountability, configurability, and duality) that can enable
designers to develop a sensitivity towards a relational view of agency in
design:
http://www.bakikocaballi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Embracing-relational-agency-in-design-process.pdf
They
are all familiar design qualities, but I think together they form a good
foundation to build such an understanding.
Kind regards
Baki
On Sat, Jul 4, 2020 at 9:48 PM Terence Love <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear David and Jerry,
>
> Perhaps I'm being careful with words... 'decision' - 'to make a cut', and
> 'agency' - 'to move or set in motion'.
>
> I suggest there is contradictory position in design research in thinking
> about these issues that is a split between those used to thinking about the
> behaviour of complex objects and systems, and those whose habit is thinking
> about themselves and their self-perceptions.
>
> In part what I'm suggesting is that, people are focused on themselves in
> their thinking, take a limited view of agency and view themselves at the
> centre of agency and consequently in a limited fashion presume that only
> humans have agency, and consequently take a blinkered view of design
> through that lens.
>
> A result is that, without making some distance from one's self, it
> appears falsely, subjectively 'obvious' to people in that frame of mind
> that human agency is everything about agency, and it is to them, in that
> narrow way of thinking.
>
> I'm suggesting it is worthwhile in design research taking the viewpoint
> that there are other ways of thinking and understanding agency, decision
> making and activity that are not human 'self-ish' - and extend beyond
> humans to other non-human entities.
>
> More, it appears these other ways of thinking and theorising that view
> agency and decision-making as extending beyond humans to non-human objects
> (including abstract objects) solve many otherwise intractable problems of
> design theory. More, they enable better inclusion and understanding about
> many other aspects of design activity that are otherwise problematically
> viewed oddly through the lens of human self agency.
>
> That is what I was drawing attention to in my email to Ken.
>
> For some areas of design, this is new thinking. For STS and other areas of
> design this is old hat.
>
> Warm regards,
> Terry
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related
> research in <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of David Sless
> Sent: Saturday, 4 July 2020 1:02 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: The uselessness of 'agency' in design theory
>
> Hi Terry,
>
> I have just sat down at my desk having returned from some work I was doing
> at our local communal garden. Rain stopped us all in mid activity. So here
> I am at my desk writing a note to you and the rest of this list. I made
> conscious decision to do something!
>
> I don’t need to write a paper about agency to prove my agency, I just do
> it!
>
> David
>
>
>
>
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