ISKM77 Designing Technologies for/with communities

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2022
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Roberto Cibin, Ph.D. (lecturer)
PhDr. Ladislava Zbiejczuk Suchá, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Ladislava Zbiejczuk Suchá, Ph.D.
Department of Information and Library Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Alice Lukavská
Supplier department: Department of Information and Library Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 15. 2. to Tue 29. 3. Tue 18:00–19:40 Virtuální místnost, Tue 19. 4. to Tue 26. 4. Tue 18:00–19:40 Virtuální místnost; and Tue 5. 4. 10:00–11:40 Virtuální místnost, Tue 3. 5. 18:00–19:40 Virtuální místnost, Tue 10. 5. 18:00–19:40 Virtuální místnost
Prerequisites (in Czech)
TYP_STUDIA(N)
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 1/20, only registered: 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Nowadays, it is common for practitioners and researchers working on the design of technologies, especially those intended to produce social innovation, to find themselves interacting with different types of communities. However, through this concept, we define groups of people connected by dimensions and meanings that can be very different from each other. For instance, the term community can define social aggregates connected by different types of bounds, including, for example, people sharing the same space (e.g., a neighbourhood group), people linked by similar interests (e.g., a reading group), or people linked by both of these factors (e.g., a group of local activists). At the same time, communities can be based on physical, face-to-face, relationships or exist entirely through digital connections (e.g., the community around Wikipedia). Finally, communities can be both simple recipients of technology or groups of actors involved in the design process. The main goal of this course is to provide some interpretative tools to navigate within these different aspects concerning design, offering students a greater understanding of the interaction between design researchers and people when designing technologies to meet the needs of specific communities. Through an examination of very different experiences, we will highlight the common lines, challenges, and different approaches used in an attempt to align the interests of researchers, designers, and community members on the one hand, but also those of technologies, institutions, and natural elements on the other.
Learning outcomes
With a strong focus on the Participatory Design approach, and through the involvement of international experts, this course will offer students the opportunity to discuss issues concerning design in relation to sustainability, caring and commoning practices, resilience, cultural heritage management, the blockchain, rural and global south contexts. Through an interdisciplinary approach aimed at bringing together Human and Computer Interaction, Interaction Design, and reflections from the Social Sciences, this course will help students to identify how the process of designing technologies is not just composed of a material (technical) dimension but also of the intersection with cultural, political, economic and ecological dimensions, to name but a few.
Syllabus
  • Programme feb 15, 6pm: Roberto Cibin - Introduction feb 22, 6pm: Vincenzo D'Andrea - Techniques for communities involvement: Participatory Design mar 1, 6pm: Mariacristina Sciannamblo - Design for activist interventions: caring and commoning mar 8, 6pm: Maurizio Teli - Communities for sustainable and digital transformation mar 15, 6pm: Aldo de Moor - Making Sense of Design-Enabled Urban Innovations in an Online Collaborative Community. mar 22, 6pm: Nic Bidwell - Design for/with rural/indigenous communities mar 29, 6pm: Laura Maye - Cultural heritage communities and design apr 5, 10am: Marcus Foth, John Michael McQueenie - Decentralised autonomous communities? Communities and blockchain? Apr 12: NO LESSON apr 19, 6pm: Giacomo Poderi - Digital communities, participation and commons Apr 26, 6pm: Sarah Robinson - When design for/with community "fails" May 3, 6pm: Next-book Team - Case study - Supporting library communities online May 10, 6pm: Roberto Cibin - Conclusion
Teaching methods
Online seminar classes in English. In the first part of each lesson there will be a lecture made by an international guest where specific topics and experiences of research and design will be described. In the second part, students will participate in the discussion also on the basis of previously assigned readings.
Assessment methods
Reading of assigned texts Active participation during the classes A final essay of 4 standard pages covering some of the topics addressed Short class presentation
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
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