Post-Radical Pedagogy (Nida Abdullah, Xinyi Li, Chris Lee) was convened as a space to explore, antagonize, challenge, and interrogate institutional values and legacies. The program operates as a vehicle to activate pedagogical practice through and against institutional inertia.
“Post” in this context doesn’t denote an “after,” but a consequence of. It prompts a reflection on what happened, where we are because of, or in spite of an inherited (institutional) pedagogical situation that limits radical potentials, and where we go from here. “Post” in this sense is implicitly an acknowledgment of struggle.
This year, we’re hosting the Post-Radical Design Pedagogy Lecture Series, exploring the way that white supremacy pervades design pedagogy from institutional policy, curricular language to everyday interactions and technological reliance in the studio.
| Date | Speaker | Talk |
|---|---|---|
| 9/25/2020 4:00–5:30 PM EDT |
Ari Melenciano | Designing Futures Through Omni-Specialized Design
In this talk, Ari Melenciano describes her research, practice and pedagogical approach to design in speculating and building futures that are ecologically-centered, equitable, and pluralistic. Ari will share her research on indigenous and African practices and technologies, Afrocentric pedagogical designs, and the intersectional community building process of Afrotectopia. RSVP |
| 10/30/2020 6:00–7:30 PM EDT |
Lauren Williams and John Jennings | Design, Race and Speculation—from Horror to the Specter of Black Liberation
Join Lauren Williams and John Jennings in a conversation that explores their respective practices through the speculative dimensions of design, race, and time. The entanglement of these in the presenters’ practices are both banal and charged with rage and monstrous horror. Yet in their own ways, one sees their work as responding to Walidah Imarisha’s assertion that "all organizing is science fiction... moving beyond the boundaries of what is possible or realistic, into the realm of what we are told is impossible." What does a liberated Black future look like? What is it made out of? How does it come to be? |
| 2/19/2021 1:00–2:30 PM EST |
Silvio Lorusso | Design and Disillusion: A Starter Pack
In this talk, Silvio Lorusso opens up his current research on the disillusion permeating the design field. For his upcoming book, he is interrogating self-deprecating memes, navigating generational resentment, and confronting the soul-crushing everyday life within the creative industries. Silvio Lorusso is a writer, artist and designer based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In 2018 he published his first book entitled Entreprecariat. He holds a Ph.D. in Design Sciences from the Iuav University of Venice. RSVP |
| 4/9/2021 5:00–6:30 PM EDT |
Danielle Aubert and Elaine Lopez | The Joy and Politics of Printing
For Elaine, the RISO printer functions as a vehicle for a pedagogical process that encourages students to make work from a place of generosity, ease, and forgiveness. It enables the discussion of radical pedagogies, non-Western perspectives, and forms of self-care to inspire form-making and self-publishing about identity, culture, and social issues. Danielle explores a long and rich history of radical leftists working as printers. While society’s dependence on print has waned, many designers continue to see potential in owning this particular means of production. Printing brings together cognitive and material labor, demands attention to craft, and can bring real pleasure to those who engage with it. What are the limits and potentials of printing as a political act? Together these presenters prompt us to ask, through examples in history and pedagogical practice, can we discern a new kind of significance for printing? RSVP |