Design in an Age of Uncertainty

We create, research and teach in an age of uncertainty caused by war, mass migration and climate change. Political and social shifts suggest we have reached an inflection point. The hope design might contribute to progressive social ideals is now challenged by reassertion of discriminatory beliefs and epistemic violence. Conceptions of education and research as fields of open inquiry are increasingly subject to hostile questioning. Yet where are we heading? Already in 2019 Nancy Fraser evoked Gramsci’s dictum that "the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear" and commented on the failures of neoliberalism and the dangerous rise of populism.

The conference asks questions relevant to design, academic and artistic communities, and also larger publics. What are the implications of these shifts for design practice, education and research? What alternative positive models can designers, educators, and researchers in design theory and history offer? What values can design and design history promote in their stead? What is the place for activism in design?