Day Seminar Series

'It's Personal: Subjectivity in Design History'

Thursday 9th May 2013

TVAD Research Group, School of Creative Arts, University of Hertfordshire

AA191/A161 Lindop Building, College Lane Campus, Hatfield, Herts AL10 9AB, UK.

Postmodern theory might have finally killed off the utopian ideal of history as an objective science, but it has arguably left a vacuum, with no comprehensive debate on the role of subjectivity and its potential challenges and benefits. As scholars we are trained to put aside subjective responses in our analyses, and yet personal interests, values and experiences continue to inform the work of design historians, from our choice of subject matter and theoretical frameworks to our methodological approaches and conclusions. Our aim is to contribute an examination of this under-developed topic relevant to the field of design history and beyond.

PROGRAMME

12.30 pm Lunch, Lindop foyer

1.10 pm Introduction, convenors, Dr Grace Lees-Maffei (University of Hertfordshire) & Dr Kjetil Fallan (University of Oslo)

1.20 pm Dr Jo Turney (Bath Spa University) 'It's all about me: little voices, big stories (or vice versa)'

2.00 pm Kerry William Purcell (University of Hertfordshire) ''The knots on the underside of the carpet': Design history, the historian, and the shadow of the object'

2.40 pm Professor Regina L. Blaszczyk (University of Leeds) 'Adventures of an Archives Hound: Learning How Colour Became a Tool for American Designers'

3.20 pm Tea, Lindop foyer

3.50 pm Paul Hazell (University of Worcester) 'The enthusiast's eye: the dilettante of design history?'

4.20 pm Nicholas Oddy (Glasgow School of Art, Scotland) 'An Uneasy Alliance: Collectors' items and history'

5.00 pm Dr Pauline Garvey (National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland) 'Are you the person who has the lamp on in the middle of the night?!' The sensuous quality of domestic things'

5.40 pm Professor Jonathan Morris (University of Hertfordshire), response, followed by group discussion

6.00 pm Wine, Lindop Foyer

6.30 Close.

Attendance is free but delegates must email g.lees-maffei@herts.ac.uk in advance to register.

Hatfield is well linked to plane (Luton, Stansted, London airports), rail, road and bus networks. Please visit the website for details:

http://www.herts.ac.uk/about-us/where-to-find-us/college-lane-maps-and-directions.cfm

The DHS Day Seminar Series will normally take place in November, April and June, but seminars in other months will also be considered. The focus is intended to encourage regular meetings around current research in design history. The DHS Day Seminar Series Grant is designed to support DHS members who wish to convene and host a Seminar series in their institutions. The Society welcomes proposals to host a seminar series and offers a small grant of £500-£750 to support such an event. The application form below must be completed to propose a Seminar Series and to apply for the DHS Day Seminar Series Grant.

Please note:

• All conveners must be members of the Design History Society.
• In all publicity, the Seminar must be billed as the DHS Day Seminar Series 2011-2012, and the DHS logo must be used for all communications used for the seminar series.
• Seminars will normally take place at the conveners' choice of venue (e.g. own institution) in November, April or June.
• All details supplied will be used to announce the seminar series through the DHS website, newsletter and facebook page, and thus these must be correct and precise. Any changes must be communicated with the DHS Secretary as soon as possible.
• All budget details listed in application for DHS grant (£500-£750) must be carefully costed and listed precisely for the DHS accounts.
• Following the seminar, the conveners must complete a report/ review of the event to be hosted on the DHS website, Newsletter and facebook page, and a summary of costs/ spend of the grant. The report/ review must be submitted within 4 weeks of the seminar. A template to enable this is provided following the application form.

Proposals are due 3 months prior to the seminar's date.

Application forms are available from the DHS Secretary, Charlotte Nicklas c.nicklas@brighton.ac.uk

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