Design + Anthropology Converging Pathways in Anthropology and Design

This book explores the evolution of two disciplines, design and anthropology, and their convergence within commercial and organizational arenas. Focusing on the transdisciplinary field of design anthropology, the chapters cover the global forces and conditions that facilitated its emergence, the people that have contributed to its development and those who are likely to shape its future. Christine Miller touches on the invention and diffusion of new practices, the recontextualization of ethnographic inquiry within design and innovations in applications of anthropological theory and methodology. She considers how encounters between anthropology and ‘designerly’ practice have impacted the evolution of both disciplines. The book provides students, scholars and practitioners with valuable insight into the movement to formalize the nascent field of design anthropology and how the relationship between the two fields might develop in the future given the dynamic global forces that continue to impact them both.

Introduction Chaos, Purity and Danger What this book is about Who this book is for Structure of the book Chapter One: Making the Strange Familiar, and the Familiar Strange Introduction The anthropological roots of design anthropology Tracing the threads Anthropology and business Anthropology: Its Achievements and Future The way we were: The legacy of 1960s through the 1980s Designs for an Anthropology of the Contemporary Dialogue 1: Writing Culture Dialogue 2: In the wake of Writing Culture: new projects We will not regret the past nor wish to close the door on it Dialogue 3: An anthropology of the Contemporary Dialogue 4: Bridging the traditional, the modern, and the contemporary Dialogue 5: Introducing the design studio Dialogue 6: Adaptive strategies Dialogue 7: Deparochializing anthropology Anthropological relocations and the limits of design Design: Anthropology’s future or problematic object? Chapter Two: Roots in Design Introduction Significance for anthropology The Sciences of the Artificial: Rationality and the science of design Herbert Simon in context What implications for anthropology? Understanding artifacts and systems: the dichotomy of inner and outer environments the Emergence of Professional Design politics of the artificial: Design at the end of the millennium Unraveling the politics: a critique of the artificial Challenges to scientific "truth": blurring the boundaries of natural and artificial contemporary Critiques of design The social turn: Design for the Other 90% Is humanitarian design the new imperialism? Branzi’s Dilemma: Design Consciousness in Contemporary Culture 21st Century design: An integrative discipline The design education manifesto Designing with, not designing for: the influence of participatory design Ethnography in the field of design the design education manifesto Designing with, not designing for: the influence of Participatory design Ethnography in the field of design Chapter three: OPERATIONALIZING DESIGN ANTHROPOLOGY: How we know it when we see it Introduction Disciplinary evolution: adaptive strategies Disruptive change demands pluridisciplinary collaboration Design anthropology: "Ethnographies of the Possible" Events and situated practice The significance of events and situations in anthropological practice Frameworks an Emerging set of principles toward future-making: Vignettes of cultural production and change Vignette 1: Design Anthropological Futures Conference Design Anthropological Futures: Ethnographies of the Possible Analysis and outcomes Vignette 2: BarnRaise Pre-event: registration and team assignments Setting the stage: opening reception The design workshop: a "future-in-the-making" event Analysis and outcomes Chapter four: MAPPING DESIGN ANTHROPOLOGY Introduction Design anthropology: discipline, subject area, or research strategy? Basic web search: Google Ngram Google Scholar and ProQuest Social Network analysis of Design anthropology Events and Contributors Data Description Social Network Analysis Google Site search Discussion of findings Design Anthropology’s COINs and CoPs Tracking the diffusion of innovation Homophily and heterophily Attributes of innovation Conclusion Chapter five: epilogue Final thoughts A field in its own right Not to be confused with design ethnography Technological challenges

Christine Miller is Clinical Associate Professor of Innovation in the Stuart School of Business at the Illinois Institute of Technology, USA. Her research interests incorporate how sociality and culture influence the design and diffusion of new products, processes, and technologies. She studies technology-mediated communication and knowledge work flows within multiple discipline groups, teams, and networks and the emergence of collaborative innovation networks (COINs).