Designing for Social Change (204-0-20)
Instructors
Daniel Maurice Cohen
Meeting Info
Annenberg Hall 303: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
Intended as an introduction to design, this course will help us ask a series of questions about our relationship to the world: How can we encourage and drive meaningful social change? How can we design and implement effective and inspiring programs that address social injustice? How can the process of design help us realize human rights, secure civil rights, and take a stand against oppression in our communities, across our country, and around the world? We will attempt to answer these questions by exploring specific steps of the design process. A goal of this course is to acquire an intellectual and applied understanding of the principles of program design and development, which include consideration of historical context and issues affecting the quality of program implementation. We will focus on specific steps within the design and implementation process, as well as case studies of real-world programs with a focus on anti-oppression. We will examine a range of topics, including: finding inspiration and drawing on emotion to direct and redirect our focus; audience-centered design and the identification, recruitment, and retention of target audiences; creating strategic goals and writing learning goals; and ensuring sustainability. What counts as a social need or social problem is subjective and complex, and programs can therefore be difficult to conceive, manage, modify, and evaluate. In light of this, our exploration of designing for social change will include consideration of the organizational, ethical, and political contexts of program implementation. Course assignments are student driven and include Journal Entries and Creative Sparks. Starting early in the quarter, students will work in teams on a Design Project to design and write an implementation proposal for an original social program.
Class Materials (Required)
All texts will be provided through Canvas and weblinks
Class Attributes
Attendance at 1st class mandatory
Freshmen/Sophomores Only