Class Provocations and Transitions II

The course adopts a laboratory-based approach to design as a practice of critical intervention, exploring ways of fostering change and supporting processes of social, cultural, technological and environmental transition. Organised around the programme's cross-cutting forums-Geographies & Food, Climates & Cultures, Communities & Publishing, and Archives & Futures-it encourages the experimentation with formats, media and methodologies that expand the notion of publishing beyond the editorial object. Through research by design, students develop projects that combine critical thinking, public engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, exploring the role of design in shaping more sustainable, inclusive and culturally relevant futures.

Not applicable

The course is organised around five thematic areas: Design, transition and critical intervention. Expanded publishing: books, exhibitions, installations, performance, digital platforms and algorithmic systems. Publishing ecologies: infrastructures, communities, circulation, access, archives, the commons, artificial intelligence and automation. Research through design, prototyping, material experimentation and hybrid media. The development of an authorial project within one of the programme's four thematic forums, integrating research, production, public presentation and critical reflection. Throughout the semester, students will analyse contemporary case studies and undertake practical exercises exploring the relationships between design, culture, sustainability, technology and participation.

The course adopts Project-Based Learning methodologies, emphasising experimentation, rapid prototyping, research through design and iterative development. Activities combine seminars, workshops, case studies, collective critiques, fieldwork and tutorial supervision. Learning is developed through the progressive construction of individual and collaborative projects integrating different media, technologies and publishing contexts. Digital tools and artificial intelligence systems are used as complementary instruments for research, organisation, prototyping and communication, encouraging their critical, ethical and transparent use.

Adema, J. (2024). Experimental Publishing as Collective Struggle: Providing Imaginaries for Posthumanist Knowledge Production. Culture Machine, 23.  Bhaskar, M. (2016). The Content Machine: Towards a Theory of Publishing from the Printing Press to the Digital Network. Anthem Press. Escobar, A. (2018). Designs for the Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds. Duke University Press. Irwin, T., Tonkinwise, C., & Kossoff, G. (2022). Transition Design: An Educational Framework for Advancing the Study and Design of Sustainable Transitions. Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseño y Comunicación.  Lorusso, S. (2016). Extending Horizons: The Praxis of Experimental Publishing in the Age of Digital Networks. Doctoral dissertation, IUAV University of Venice. Manzini, E. (2015). Design, When Everybody Designs. MIT Press. Sjöberg, S., Keskinen, M., & Karhumaa, A. (Eds.). (2024). The Experimental Book Object: Materiality, Media, Design. Routledge.