Design History Society Annual Publishing Workshop 2025

Design History Society Annual Publishing Workshop 2025

The 2025 Annual Publishing Workshop of the Design History Society will be held in Ankara Bilim University, and will be conducted in a hybrid format.

Please register via Eventbrite by 26th August 2025: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e...

The two sessions will explore how design history publishing can move beyond the canon through inclusive, decentralised approaches and alternative writing formats. They will offer critical insights and practical guidance on expanding narratives, decolonial scholarship, and experimenting with new modes of scholarly expression.

1. Moving beyond the Canon in Design History Publishing
2. Explorations: Alternative Approaches to Design Writing

Session 1: Moving beyond the Canon in Design History Publishing
Time: 15:00-16:15 TRT (13:00-14:15 BST)

Speakers:

1. Prof Dr Grace Lees-Maffei (Professor of Design History, University of Hertfordshire; Co-editor of The Design History Reader (Bloomsbury, 2025), Chair of Editorial Board, Journal of Design History)

2. Prof Dr Rebecca Houze (Professor of Art and Design History, Northern Illinois University, Co-editor of The Design History Reader (Bloomsbury, 2025) and World History of Design, vol. 3 (Bloomsbury, 2026))

3. Dr Elli Michaela Young (Lecturer in Fashion Visual Cultures, Middlesex University; Trustee, Design History Society, Co-Founder, The Caribbean Fashion and Design Research Network (CFDRN))

4. Dr Priscila Lena Farias (Associate Professor at FAU USP - University of São Paulo School of Architecture and Urbanism, Member, Editorial Board of the Journal of Design History and The Design Journal)

5. Dr Harriet Atkinson (Senior Lecturer in History of Art and Design, University of Brighton and Editorial Board member of Journal of Design History)

6. Prof Dr Özlem Erdoğdu Erkarslan (Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design Ankara Bilim University, Co-editor, Struggle and Rejuvenation: Migration and Displacement in Turkey (Routledge), Member of the Editorial Board of The Design Journal)

This session explores what it means to move beyond the canon in design history publishing today. It will examine how established narratives and frameworks can evolve to include diverse geographies, themes, and voices. The discussion will reflect on the challenges of publishing work from underrepresented regions, navigating language and resource barriers, and addressing structural exclusions. The session also considers emerging forms of inclusive and decentralised publishing—ranging from open-access platforms to collaborative networks—that are reshaping how design history is shared.

The speakers will present papers of 7-10 minutes, followed by an audience Q&A of 20 minutes.

Session 2: Explorations: Alternative Approaches to Design Writing
Time: 16:30-17:30 TRT (14:30-15:30 BST)

Speaker Details

1. Dr Sarah Cheang (Head of Programme, History of Design, Royal College of Art; Editor, Explorations, Journal of Design History; Founder, Research Collective for Decoloniality and Fashion)

2. Dr Livia Lazzaro Rezende (Senior Lecturer, UNSW School of Art & Design, Sydney; Editor, Explorations, Journal of Design History; Book Series Editor, Studies in Design and Material Culture (Manchester University Press))

The Journal of Design History's new Explorations section publishes high quality peer-reviewed content that takes 'non-traditional' academic forms, from short essays to visual essays, interviews, letters and creative writing. In this mini-workshop, the Explorations editors will talk about the aims of the section and the pathways to successful publication. The session includes an opportunity for the participants to begin drafting their own proposal, whether they already have an Explorations submission in mind or if they are merely curious about other ways to express their ideas and communicate and publish their research for a design history readership.