technē studentship: Design as Political Activity in Activist Struggles

Application details:

Reference number: 2021/TECHNE/IDIPolAct
Start date: October 2021
Closing date: 22nd November 2020
Interview date: TBC

Supervisors:

Institute for Design Innovation.

Preamble:

Loughborough University London is a part of technē; a consortium which comprises nine universities in London and the South-East, with almost 60 AHRC studentships to award each year across a range of arts and humanities disciplines. technē supports outstanding students pursuing the ‘craft’ of research through innovative, interdisciplinary and creative approaches.
For students technē provides:
• An environment that is intellectually innovative and experimental
• Varied disciplinary and interdisciplinary training and networking opportunities
• Collaborative engagement with partners in the cultural and other sectors
• Rigorous scholarly training and opportunities to develop skills in innovation, critical thinking, risk taking, creativity and communication that are valued in academic and work contexts

Loughborough University is a top-ten rated university in England for research intensity (REF2014). By choosing a doctoral programme from the Institute for Design Innovation you’ll work alongside academic leaders in their field. The Institute is actively engaged in international research projects concerning the value of design, making meaning, service and policy design and design practice. The Institute investigates the use of design in the contexts of users, society and business.

Find out more: www.lborolondon.ac.uk/about/

Project Detail:

The research will draw on theories and debates from environmental politics, social movement studies, and radical and critical thought in design to interrogate the ways in which design can be understood, conceived and realised in support of activist struggles, their activities and capabilities.

This can include but is not limited to: conceptualising design as an epistemic practice outside of institutionalised design contexts; design as a facilitator of material-semiotic conditions and its relation to building movements; interrogating design as a process of infrastructuring the cultural commons; engaging in broader debates on the politics of knowledge production in relation to design and how this informs the possibilities of politically-engaged design scholarship.

This PhD programme will explore the fundamental political basis of design practices and the epistemic role of design in (de-)institutionalising certain norms, cultural practices and discourses through the struggles of contemporary movement work. By deconstructing normative understandings of design and the institutionalised knowledge systems that design literature contributes to, negotiates its own position in relation to and challenges, can develop understanding of how design can be conceptualized, comprehended and practiced in new and radical ways.

Find out more:

Information about the research agenda of the Institute for Design Innovation can be found here: http://www.lborolondon.ac.uk/research/
For informal enquiries please contact Dr Sharon Prendeville ([Email Address Removed]).

Entry requirements:

An honours degree (2:1 or above) and a relevant master's degree, or equivalent qualifications or experience.

Contact details:

Name: Dr Sharon Prendeville
Email address: [Email Address Removed]

How to apply:

All applications should be made online at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/apply/research/. Under programme name, select Design Innovation.

Please quote reference number: 2021/TECHNE/IDIPolAct and include a research proposal with your application.