Design History Society annual conference 2026 convenor announcement

Conference & Events

9 September, 2025

We are delighted to announce that the 2026 Design History Society conference will be hosted by Masaryk University, Brno. Convened by Marta Filipová, Veronika Hittmanová Rollová, Matthew Rampley and Julia Secklehner, the conference theme is:

Design in an Age of Uncertainty

Thursday 3rd – Saturday 5th September 2026

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?

Find out more: https://arthistory.phil.muni.c...