AANK13511U The anthropology of design and innovation

Volume 2014/2015
Content

Innovation and design are two of the most praised and pursued concepts today. Innovation is top on the political, economic and even social agenda all over the world. Innovation is concerned with creating new solutions, products and services that break with present conventions by exploring the realm of the possible. The concept of design is likewise moving into fields not traditionally connected with design. Concepts such as ‘design thinking’ and ‘design anthropology’ are hot topics indicating the idea that design is as much about process as product. While becoming increasingly mundane and well-known concepts – seemingly everything can be designed and innovated - innovation and design are slippery concepts that are hard to describe and grasp.

In this course we explore innovation and design as social processes of e.g. improvisation, performance, and creation. We will look at different aspects of innovation and design, not detached from the world but unfolding in and as social relations, negotiations and exchange. The aim of the course is to explore the emerging and complex fields of innovation and design both inside Academia (i.e. design anthropology) and outside (i.e. user driven innovation) to investigate and contextualize these recent movements and practices within the wider anthropological literature. Through discussions of both ethnographic accounts as well as anthropological theories of a range of topics and fields relating to design and innovation, the course seeks to open the ‘black boxes’ of design and innovation by asking how design and innovation is done in different settings, by different people and for different purposes. In an equally critical and exploratory manner the course seeks to identify what an anthropology of design and innovation might be.

Learning Outcome

Upon the completion of the course:

  • The student will be able to identify different anthropological approaches to innovation and design.
  • The student will have acquired methodological insight from both classic and experimental ethnography with which to pursue the engagement with design and innovation from new angles.
  • The student will be able to use concepts from the broader anthropological literature including both theory and ethnographic accounts in the analysis of innovation and design as socio-cultural practices.
  • The student will be able to analytically and critically engage with the phenomena and concepts of innovation and design.
This course is a specialized course for MSc-students enrolled at the Dept. of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen. Erasmus/exchange- , credit- an Open University students who have a bachelor degree which consists of a minimum of one and a half years (90 ECTS) of anthropological subjects, including introduction to history of anthropological theory and methodology in Anthropology may also apply. Documentation is required.
The course will be conducted as a combination of lectures, seminar discussions, student presentations and work in groups.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 70
  • Exercises
  • 10
  • Lectures
  • 14
  • Preparation
  • 112
  • Seminar
  • 4
  • Total
  • 210
Credit
10 ECTS
Type of assessment
Portfolio
The student must participate actively in class, through for example class
presentations, in order to be eligible to take the course exam. The course
lecturer stipulates the specific requirements for active class participation.
Exam registration requirements
The student must participate actively in class, through for example class
presentations, in order to be eligible to take the course exam. The course
lecturer stipulates the specific requirements for active class participation.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Re-exam
1. & 2. Re-exam
For written exams:
A new essay/portfolio with a revised problem statement is submitted at the announced date. The student must register for the re-exam.
For oral exams:
A revised synopsis with a new problem statement is submitted at the announced date. The students must hereafter participate in a new oral exam at the announced date. The student must register for the re-exam.
Criteria for exam assesment

See learning objectives

Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Portfolio
Portfolio
Obligatory portfolio assignments: The course lecturer determines the number and length of portfolio assignments. A minimum of 75% thereof will be assessed as the exam. At the end of the course, the lecturer will announce upon which portfolio assignments the assessment will be based.
Exam registration requirements
The student must participate actively in class, through for example class
presentations, in order to be eligible to take the course exam. The course
lecturer stipulates the specific requirements for active class participation.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Re-exam
1. & 2. Re-exam
For written exams:
A new essay/portfolio with a revised problem statement is submitted at the announced date. The student must register for the re-exam.
For oral exams:
A revised synopsis with a new problem statement is submitted at the announced date. The students must hereafter participate in a new oral exam at the announced date. The student must register for the re-exam.
Criteria for exam assesment

See learning objectives