Beyond Myths: Ideas, Values, and Processes in Design History
ARCOS DESIGN
Vol 10, Número 1, April 2018
Editor: João de Souza Leite
This is a call for papers for *Arcos Design* magazine, Volume 10, number 1,
concerning the History of Design.
Arcos Design is an academic journal in design, peer-reviewed, linked to
the Graduate Program in Design of the School of Design (ESDI), State
University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Created in the 1990s by members of the ESDI faculty, when design
post-graduate education in Brazil began, *Arcos Design* persists in
promoting the intersection of design studies with philosophy, sociology,
economics, in order to expand the understanding of the system of production
and consumption of artifacts in general. The word *Arcos* refers not only
to the historical site where ESDI is located, in downtown of Rio de
Janeiro, in front of an old aqueduct of the 18th century, but also to the
bridges that it intends to establish with several areas of knowledge.
After its edition was suspended for some time, the magazine was revived in
digital format in the ESDI Graduate Program in Design, available at
*http://www.e-publicacoes.uerj.br/index.php/arcosdesign/index
<http://www.e-publicacoes.uerj.br/index.php/arcosdesign/index>*.
The encyclopedic tendency of conventional design history is well known for
its continuing appeal to exceptional individuals and products. The
persistence of this teaching model in design education, which favors a few
events, no doubt important, leads to a reasonable reduction of the
historical phenomenon and constitutes an insufficient basis for the
advancement of reflections upon the field.
In the past, history of design was something much closer to a campaign to
promote a certain way of designing. In the 1980s, works by authors such as
Arthur Pulos, Philip Meggs, Adrian Forty, and Clive Dilnot, and before them
Reyner Banham and Erwin Schaeffer, finally expanded the scope of historical
research on design. As it followed, due to the effort of a group of
researchers, the body of the discipline was established Recently, the huge
work of Victor Margolin in his book on a world history of design
contributes to this panorama.
The advancement of theoretical and philosophical reflection on design has
allowed us to understand the meaning of the word design in its dual
representation, both as a noun and verb, or by its generic meaning in the
English lexicon, or by what is inferred from a specific way of designing
things in general, in which values and commitments play a decisive role
in the configuration of the discipline.
In this sense, it is fundamental to recognize a project of hegemony in the
universalist conception of design, conceived in the historical moment in
which the modernist proposal, especially of German origin, was intended to
be absolute. Unlike the common sense consolidated by modernist precepts,
compromises and frameworks conditioned by culture and by local systems of
exchange practiced according to the traditions of crafts have greatly
influenced singular configurations of the design of things in general, in
different contexts. Thus the evolution of design in France differs from the
process in Italian territory, which by its turn differs from the history of
English design, and also from the conditions for the emergence of design in
Germany, the United States, Japan and Latin America, as well, although
there are connections. There arises important questions about the
possibility of a world history of design.
This next issue of *Arcos Design* intends to deal with questions of design
history, its problems, scope and realization in the sphere of regional,
national or global spaces, through the particular processes of design,
governed or not by models preestablished by this or that one school of
thought.
The explicit interest in the making of artifacts and utensils dates back at
least to the 17th century. Galileo Galilei manifests his wonder at
craftsmanship early in his *Discorsi and Dimostrazioni Matematiche Intorno
a Due Nuove Scienze*, and Francis Bacon seeks inspiration for the
development of scientific methods and devices for observing nature in the
workshops of mechanical artists. At the turn of the century, in 1697,
Daniel Defoe writes his first book, *Essay upon projects*, where he
presents his view of the designer:
"... the honest projector is he who, having by fair and plain principles of
sense, honesty, and ingenuity brought any contrivance to a suitable
perfection, makes out what he pretends to, picks nobody's pocket, puts his
project in execution, and contents himself with the real produce as the
profit of his invention.” (Defoe, Daniel, *An Essay Upon Projects*, p. 20,
Kindle edition)
This establishes a marking of understanding of the limits of design history
in a wide latitude. It is *Arcos*'s intention to contribute to the
comprehensive expansion of this field, promoting a renewal of design
studies.
*Call for papers *We seek contributions that allow the understanding of
design outside the conventional lines of historical investigation. In this
sense, approaches that deal with the insertion of observed phenomena in all
types of context, as long as well characterized, are of interest. In the
range of questions raised by the terms "ideas, values, and processes”, it
is important to articulate reflections in the historical dimension, whether
in the past or in the present time, as well as investigate processes of
invention and design properly located in cultural and technological
geographies.
The following topics can be addressed, though not exclusively:
1. epistemological and methodological issues about the making of
history;
2. historiographic issues facing the current challenges of design –
history of
ideas, history of concepts, intellectual history, among other
possibilities;
3. relations between distinct cultural manifestations;
4. world history versus unique stories, clearly identified with
specific contexts;
5. micro-history of design - recording and critique of culturally
located
productions;
6. macro-history in design - topics;
7. gender issues in project practice;
8. identity issues in project practice;
9. particular design processes in design;
10. historical topics in technology and design – e.g. linearity /
modularity,
analog /digital.
We are grateful for the submission of contributions, which will be
submitted to a peer-review process, with two evaluations. In case of a tie,
a third evaluation will be requested. For the first time in the history of
the publication, this edition of *Arcos Design* will have worldwide
circulation, and therefore will be edited in English.
The size and format of contributions may vary from topical observations to
the presentation of graphic or photographic documentation. The work shall
be conducted at the academic level, and the academic articles formatted
according to specified conventions.
*Author Guidelines*
1. General information
Authors from abroad will find a button on the right side of the publication
site where its language can be changed.
Registration and login are required to submit items online and to check the
status of current submissions. Authors must create a username and a
password at SEER platform at
*http://www.e-publicacoes.uerj.br/index.php/arcosdesign
<http://www.e-publicacoes.uerj.br/index.php/arcosdesign>* and follow the
system’s step-by-step instructions.
2. Manuscripts preparation
Manuscripts should have from 8 to 14 pages size A4, in a Microsoft Word
file including tables, notes and references according to Chicago Manual
Style, 16th edition,
*http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
<http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html>*.
The text in the file must be free of character and paragraph styles, with
three keywords, abstract of 50-80 words with preferably the following
structure: goals, methods, results and conclusions.
All articles must be written in English.
The author must submit one version in Word format and one in PDF with
images included in the files. Images shall also be submitted in separate
files, in JPG format.
*Submission Preparation Checklist*
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their
submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions
that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to authors.
1. The submission is original and previously unpublished, and it is not
being evaluated for publication by other journal. Otherwise, it should be
noted in “Comments to editor”.
2. The submission files are in Microsoft Word and PDF format, and images
are JPG.
3. The manuscript must follows the style standards and bibliographical
requirements described in Chicago Manual Style, 16th edition,
*http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
<http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html>*.
4. In case of submission to a peer-reviewed section (e.g. articles),
instructions regarding anonymity will be followed.
*Important dates*
Call for papers Setember 2017
Deadline 31 October 2017
Editors selection 15 November 2017
Peer Reviewing November – January 2018
Authors Revisions January – February 2018
Editorial procedures March 2018
Issue publication April 2018
*Some other information *“Beyond Myths: Ideas, Values, and Processes in
Design History” – ARCOS DESIGN Volume 10, Number 1 – is guest edited by
João de Souza Leite.
Dr. João de Souza Leite is Professor of Design History, Theory and
Criticism at ESDI, (Design School), Rio de Janeiro State University, where
he researches the conditions for dissemination of the design concept
throughout Brazilian culture.
*Contact*
For any queries or further information, please contact:
João de Souza Leite <[log in to unmask]>
João de Souza Leite | PhD, Professor/Post Doctoral Researcher |
ESDI/Uerj
School of Design/ State University of Rio de Janeiro/ Brazil
Rua General Artigas 361 #903 Leblon 22441-140 Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brasil
Telefones: 55 21 2294.3775 / 55 21 9.9768.8608
http://uerj.academia.edu/JoãodeSouzaLeite
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