European Association of Social Anthropology (EASA) 2024

Description

Panel 209: Designing Futures: Design Anthropology for Shaping Alternative Worlds
How might design anthropology address contemporary global challenges and the design of alternative futures at scale? This panel explores the role of design anthropology as a transdisciplinary future-oriented research field for (co)designing social change and sustainable and responsible worlds.

How might design anthropology contribute to addressing contemporary global challenges and designing alternative futures at scale? Based on current research in anthropology of design, futures and technology, we bring together researchers to critically explore and advance the role of design anthropology as an transdisciplinary, interventional and future oriented research field contributing to social change and (co)design of more sustainable and responsible worlds.

Design anthropology brings together the situated comparative study of societies and culture, with design, the discipline of giving shape to the future. Design anthropologists engage in exploring emergent cultural practices to produce situated possibilities, socio-material inquiries and collaborative engagements of shaping new behaviours, ways of thinking, environment technologies and world-making practices. As societal crises are growing exponentially, there is an urgent need for design anthropology to move beyond the empirical, local and near-futures to address the large-scale, long-term, complex and wicked societal challenges.

We call for explorations and discussions of design anthropology’s potential contribution to developing alternative sustainable futures. We are interested in theoretical, methodological or pedagogical contributions to discuss transdisciplinary approaches, challenges, and critical reflections of anthropology’s role in designing for socio-environmental change to address contemporary crisis, as well as cutting edge empirical cases of design anthropological research, teaching, collaborative intervention and future-making in diverse socio-cultural contexts. These might include: the shaping of inclusive digitalised worlds, responsible design of emerging technologies, decolonising design approaches towards pluriversality, green transition and more-than-human alternatives, as well as the reimagination and design of/for sustainable socio-political and economic futures at scale.

Period	23 Jul 2024 → 25 Jul 2024
Event type	Conference
Location	Barcelona , SpainShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International