DHS Day Symposium- Design History in Practice: Theory, Method, and Materials

25 August 2015 -

Design History in Practice: Theory, Method and Materials was held on 9-10 June 2015 in Oslo thanks to the generous support of the Design History Society and the Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas of the University of Oslo (UiO). Convened by Joana Meroz (VU University Amsterdam) and Gabriele Oropallo (UiO) the event was at the same time a DHS Day Symposium and a research seminar featured in the UiO’s doctoral training programme.

The symposium provided an opportunity for ten doctoral candidates from Europe and South America to present their research and receive extensive feedback from three invited lecturers as well as the other participants. The symposium was intended as a forum for researchers working in design history, design cultures and allied fields of inquiry to discuss how they negotiate the relationship between theoretical and empirical research in their historical and cultural analyses of design. Hence, the focus of the presentations was on the issues raised by one’s approach to the research material rather than on the research topics themselves. Ultimately, the aim of the event was not to solve the discontinuities between the different facets of research, or to arrive to a set of prescriptions on the right approach. Rather, through the case studies presented by participants, the format of the event sought to establish a common ground and vocabulary to foster discussion on the effects of one’s theoretical and methodological choices on research outcomes.

The event saw the participation of three invited speakers, each of whom elaborated upon an aspect of the overall topic in their one-hour keynotes followed by a thirty-minute discussion. Timo de Rijk (Delft University; Leiden University) gave a talk on how the practice of design history influences the teaching of it—and viceversa. Alexandra Midal (Geneva University of Art and Design) presented on design history driven by story-telling. Finally, Kjetil Fallan (UiO) gave a paper on national narratives and globalization of design history, an anticipation from a co-edited forthcoming volume of his.
The research papers were organized in five thematic sessions: national/global, mythology, interpretation, mediation, and material by research. Each session comprised two thirty-minute cases divided into a short presentation and a discussion. Each case was assigned two respondents, one invited lecturer and one fellow presenter, who initiated the conversation, later to be joined in by the rest of the group. Full written papers were distributed in advance to allow for an informed discussion. This proved quite effective as demonstrated by the quality of depth and detail of the comments and questions, as well as for the variety of points-of-view represented.

At the outset of the event, the conveners challenged both invited lecturers and delegates to an experiment in participant observation. The exercise aimed to encourage reflection on the ways knowledge is constructed in design history, among design historians. Several cross-thematic questions were asked, e.g. on the role of activism and commitment in design historiography, and the audience was invited to examine how these issues were treated during the entire event. The questions and the observations offered a fruitful basis for the final plenary, a transcription of which has been already planned.

The participants appreciated the fact that the event offered the opportunity to receive feedback on research in progress, at a still malleable form rather than in its final articulation. The exercise in participant observation also created the conditions for a discussion candidly centred on the everyday practice of design history, and underlined the social and even political aspects that contribute to the construction of knowledge in our field. The symposium seemed timely, and the positive feedback it received inspired the planning of a follow-up event and further outcomes.

Gabriele Oropallo and Joana Meroz
Oslo/Utrecht, 24 August 2015