Ph.D. Course: Towards ‘material pragmatism’? – Design, Embodiment and Affordances

Ph.D. course at C-MUS, Aalborg University, June 2-4 2015

This Ph.D. course takes point of departure in the recent theoretical developments within fields such as Actor Network Theory, Assemblage theory, Object Oriented Philosophy, Alien Phenomenology, and Non-representational theories and link these to a ‘situational perspective’ of empirical analysis.

The ‘staging mobilities’ model of situational analysis (Jensen 2013) will be used as point of departure and will theoretically be linked to the before mentioned theoretical fields and to empirical cases across architecture, urban design, interaction design, as well as to ethnographies of exurban, rural and remote settings. The key focus is to understand the materialities of design as an interface between social agents/users, material spaces/infrastructures/technologies, and the embodiment of user practices.

The course explores how design, materiality, embodiment, ambiences, and affordances can be linked for a better understanding of social and situated practice. The aim is to create a dialogue platform for design-related research focusing on the pragmatic conditions of situational practice (e.g. asking the pragmatic question ‘what affords or prevents this particular situation?’)

The course is closely linked to the organizer’s efforts in establishing a research field within ‘mobilities design’ and will be inviting the participants to reflect upon a new form of ‘material pragmatism’.

The course is organized around presentations by the lectures coupled combined with the participant’s reflections over their own projects in an open ‘research workshop’ atmosphere. A modest amount of key readings will be selected for the participants to read well in advance. The course is relevant for PhD students within architecture, urban design, industrial design, interaction design, human-computer-interaction, planning, mobilities studies, urban geography and other disciplines with a focus on the situational dimension of social practice.

Flyer: Towards ‘material pragmatism’? – Design, Embodiment and Affordances

Practical information
Organizer: Professor, Ole B. Jensen, obje@create.aau.dk
Lecturers: Professor, Ole B. Jensen, AAU and Professor Phillip Vannini, Royal Roads University, Canada Participant
Credits: 3 ECTS with participation/5 with participation and written essay
Time and Place: June 2-4 2015, Aalborg University, Rendsburggade 14, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark
Deadline for application: April 1 2015
Max. no. of participants: 15
Fee: No admission fee