Introduction to Design History

3 units

This course surveys foundational perspectives of design history through the exploration of everyday artifacts of modern life. Designed objects (e.g. cars, blue jeans, paperback books, smartphones) represent key moments in the history of modernity, and occasions for exploring design as labor, material culture, technology, social action, and professional practice in a range of fields. Guest lectures will enrich these explorations in areas of design history, theory, and practice. Through readings, writing, and hands-on exercises, students will learn the historical vocabulary and perspectives of the field.