module specification

This module reveals how products - be they art, architecture or design - and services can be conceptualised to prioritise social benefit, agency and planetary care. You will learn what it means for artifacts to be part of a localised supply and demand chain to reduce their carbon footprint and consequent impact on social equity. These artifacts will focus on the type of human and non-human relationships they produce whilst being made, exchanged and used. The qualities of relationships produced in services provided by public and third sector will be interrogated.

The raw materials, means of production, artists’ and designers’ intentions, the social production of relationships and systems of exchange (money or otherwise) will all be considered as part of the usefulness of the goods produced. You will become able to  look critically at the relationships of labour, power and empowerment as an integral part of the function and usefulness of both the artefact and the service. The design of those socially beneficial products and services will be conceived as a collaborative and inclusive process as well as being financially and environmentally sustainable. Service design and delivery is here being positioned as part of an artistic and practical practice rather than as abstract and universal policy.

The module aims to enable you to:

• Be critical in designing contemporary goods and services that benefit society and the planet;
• Assess and analyse existing designing, making and production practices;
• Understand where design problems occur in services;
• Gain a deeper understanding of the impact of our material culture and aesthetics.

Workshops, seminars and lectures will include:

The material culture of artefacts and their typology as public and common goods (LO1,LO2);

How to address public services in a contemporary society framed as post-capitalist, network society etc (LO4, LO6);

Public art and creative practices impacting how services are designed, produced and delivered (LO4, LO5, LO6);

The cultural system of objects and images, contributing to plural meaning making and symbolism (LO3);

The ecological footprint of cultural things (LO5);

The contribution of aesthetic principles to the ecosystem of artefacts, systems and services that construct relationships (LO3,LO4,LO5).

The learning and teaching strategy for the module is to base learning within seminars where you will be encouraged to debate the contents of the lectures and seminar reading material and test those theories against experiences and projects found in your own professional contexts.

The module will include self-driven debates - you will be encouraged to lead on discussions across thematics, drawing from the entire lecture series and the module aims rather than specific exemplars.

As a subject module you will consider and develop a personal position relating to the theories relevant to your practice and subjects of study and be prepared to discuss this in seminars.

Lectures will be recorded and will be available online and students will be encouraged to bring material they have independently researched to the seminars to share with their peers.

On successful completion of the module, to the standard expected at Level 7, you will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding
1. Critically appraise the materiality of social artefacts;
2. Understand the impact of supply and demand chains for localised systems that reduce carbon footprint;

Cognitive Intellectual Abilities
3. Analyse public services through the lens of artistic and creative practices;

Transferable Skills
4. Evidence best practice in production of goods and services that positively impact society and the planet;

Subject-Specific Practical Skills
5. Demonstrate a knowledge of methods of making to produce empowered communities and ecologies;

Professionalism and Values
6. Bear the needs and interests of all ‘users’ in mind throughout any project.

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