Decolonizing participatory design: Memory making in Namibia

TY - GEN

T1 - Decolonizing participatory design

T2 - 16th Participatory Design Conference: Participation(s) Otherwise, PDC 2020

AU - Charlotte Smith, Rachel

AU - Winschiers-Theophilus, Heike

AU - Paula Kambunga, Asnath

AU - Krishnamurthy, Sarala

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Participatory Design (PD) approaches seem particularly well suited to contribute to debates over power and decolonization in design, yet often lack considerations of cultural situatedness and underlying ontological entanglements. In this paper we identify theoretical and methodological gaps in PD relating to contemporary discourses of decolonizing design. We integrate perspectives from PD and postcolonial discourse to explore how we can create more far-reaching examples of decolonizing design in practice. We present a study in which young Namibians are at the forefront of knowledge production on postcolonial memories and contribute to discussions of how decolonizing PD practices may be developed through contextualized, transdisciplinary, and transcultural approaches. In particular, we argue there is a need for a "safe space," as well as continuing reflection on methods and de-linking of knowledge and epistemologies within the PD process itself.

AB - Participatory Design (PD) approaches seem particularly well suited to contribute to debates over power and decolonization in design, yet often lack considerations of cultural situatedness and underlying ontological entanglements. In this paper we identify theoretical and methodological gaps in PD relating to contemporary discourses of decolonizing design. We integrate perspectives from PD and postcolonial discourse to explore how we can create more far-reaching examples of decolonizing design in practice. We present a study in which young Namibians are at the forefront of knowledge production on postcolonial memories and contribute to discussions of how decolonizing PD practices may be developed through contextualized, transdisciplinary, and transcultural approaches. In particular, we argue there is a need for a "safe space," as well as continuing reflection on methods and de-linking of knowledge and epistemologies within the PD process itself.

KW - Decolonisation

KW - Knowledge production

KW - Local epistemologies

KW - PD methods

KW - Postcolonialism

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086890711&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1145/3385010.3385021

DO - 10.1145/3385010.3385021

M3 - Article in proceedings

AN - SCOPUS:85086890711

SN - 9781450377003

VL - 1

SP - 96

EP - 106

BT - PDC '20: Proceedings of the 16th Participatory Design Conference 2020 - Participation(s) Otherwise

A2 - Del Gaudio, Chiara

A2 - Parra-Agudelo, Leonardo

PB - Association for Computing Machinery

Y2 - 15 June 2020 through 19 June 2020

ER -