Credits: 3
Schedule: 26.02.2019 - 02.04.2019
Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):
Eva Durall: eva.durall@aalto.fi
Jana Pejoska: jana.pejoska@aalto.fi
Teaching Period (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
IV 2018-2019
Learning Outcomes (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
The course intends to create a space for debate and creative exploration of transhuman systems through design methods. During the course, special attention is dedicated to the agency of humans and human abilities, such as empathy.
Through this course, students are expected to:
- Become familiar with the concept of transhumanism and the ethical debates that appear in the design of transhuman systems.
- Develop understanding on theoretical frameworks focused on the relation between technological devices and human senses, and their implications for technology design.
- Get acquainted with design thinking and design methods that foster creativity and alternative thinking.
- Critically reflect on the challenges and opportunities associated to the design of transhuman systems.
- Gain a first-hand experience of technology design process, informed by participatory and human-centric approaches.
- Collaborate with others in order to solve a transdisciplinary design project.
Content (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
1. Introduction to transhumanism
2. Reflections on what makes us human
3. Design thinking in Information Technology Systems (ITS)
4. Design tools and methods to support alternative thinking
5. Group project development
Assessment Methods and Criteria (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
Students will be evaluated based on their participation and input throughout the course. In addition, the group project which is expected to be presented at the end of the course will have a central role in the evaluation. This project will be assessed by peers and the teachers in charge.
Workload (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
The total amount of hours of the course is 81h. The work hours are distributed as follows:
- 16h of lectures
- 10 hours of reading and assignments
- 55 hours of group work
Study Material (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
Transhumanism:
- Bostrom, N. (2005). A history of transhumanist thought.
- Ferrando, F. (2013). Posthumanism, transhumanism, antihumanism, metahumanism, and new materialisms. Existenz, 8(2), 26-32.
- More, M. (2013). The philosophy of transhumanism. The transhumanist reader: Classical and contemporary essays on the science, technology, and philosophy of the human future, 3-17.
Philosophy of Technology:
- IEEE Global Initiative. (2017). Ethically Aligned Design. IEEE Standards v2.
http://standards.ieee.org/develop/indconn/ec/ead_v2.pdf
- Mitcham, C. (1994). Thinking through technology: The path between engineering and philosophy. University of Chicago Press.
Phenomenology:
- Cilesiz, S. (2011). A phenomenological approach to experiences with technology: Current state, promise, and future directions for research. Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(4), 487-510.
- Anderson, M. L. (2003). Embodied cognition: A field guide. Artificial intelligence, 149(1), 91-130.
Actor Network Theory:
- Latour, B. (2005). Reassembling the social: An introduction to actor-network-theory (Clarendon Lectures in Management Studies).
Design thinking:
- Kelley, D., & Kelley, T. (2013). Creative confidence: Unleashing the creative potential within us all. Crown Pub.
- Brown, T., & Wyatt, J. (2010). Design thinking for social innovation IDEO. Development Outreach, 12(1), 29-31.
Participatory Design methods:
- Muller, M. J., & Kuhn, S. (1993). Participatory design. Communications of the ACM, 36(6), 24-28.
- Sanders, E. B. N., Brandt, E., & Binder, T. (2010, November). A framework for organizing the tools and techniques of participatory design. In Proceedings of the 11th biennial participatory design conference (pp. 195-198). ACM.
- Sanders, E. B. N., & Stappers, P. J. (2008). Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. Co-design, 4(1), 5-18.
Systems thinking:
- Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer. chelsea green publishing.
- Senge, P. M. (1997). The fifth discipline. Measuring Business Excellence, 1(3), 46-51.
Design cases:
- Durall, E., Leinonen, T. (2017). Data Won’t Change Your Behavior. A Critical Design Exploration of Quantified Self Technologies. In J. Jaramillo Arango, A. Burbano, F. C. Londoño,
G. Mauricio Mejía (Eds.), Proceedings of the 23rd International Symposium on Electronic Arts, Manizales, Colombia, 136-142.
- Durall, E., Leinonen, T., Gros, B., & Rodriguez-Kaarto, T. (2017). Reflection in Learning through a Self-monitoring Device: Design Research on EEG Self-Monitoring during a Study Session. Designs for Learning, 9(1).
- Pejoska, J., Bauters, M., Purma, J., & Leinonen, T. (2016). Social augmented reality: Enhancing context-dependent communication and informal learning at work. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(3), 474-483.
Details on the course materials (applies in this implementation):
Transhumanism:
- Bostrom, N. (2005). A history of transhumanist thought.
- Ferrando, F. (2013). Posthumanism, transhumanism, antihumanism, metahumanism, and new materialisms. Existenz, 8(2), 26-32.
-
More, M. (2013). The philosophy of transhumanism. The transhumanist
reader: Classical and contemporary essays on the science, technology,
and philosophy of the human future, 3-17.
Philosophy of Technology:
- IEEE Global Initiative. (2017). Ethically Aligned Design. IEEE Standards v2.
http://standards.ieee.org/develop/indconn/ec/ead_v2.pdf
- Mitcham, C. (1994). Thinking through technology: The path between engineering and philosophy. University of Chicago Press.
Phenomenology:
-
Cilesiz, S. (2011). A phenomenological approach to experiences with
technology: Current state, promise, and future directions for research.
Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(4), 487-510.
- Anderson, M. L. (2003). Embodied cognition: A field guide. Artificial intelligence, 149(1), 91-130.
Actor Network Theory:
-
Latour, B. (2005). Reassembling the social: An introduction to
actor-network-theory (Clarendon Lectures in Management Studies).
Design thinking:
- Kelley, D., & Kelley, T. (2013). Creative confidence: Unleashing the creative potential within us all. Crown Pub.
- Brown, T., & Wyatt, J. (2010). Design thinking for social innovation IDEO. Development Outreach, 12(1), 29-31.
Participatory Design methods:
- Muller, M. J., & Kuhn, S. (1993). Participatory design. Communications of the ACM, 36(6), 24-28.
-
Sanders, E. B. N., Brandt, E., & Binder, T. (2010, November). A
framework for organizing the tools and techniques of participatory
design. In Proceedings of the 11th biennial participatory design
conference (pp. 195-198). ACM.
- Sanders, E. B. N., & Stappers, P. J. (2008). Co-creation and the new landscapes of design. Co-design, 4(1), 5-18.
Systems thinking:
- Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer. chelsea green publishing.
- Senge, P. M. (1997). The fifth discipline. Measuring Business Excellence, 1(3), 46-51.
Prerequisites (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
The course is open to all students, there is no prerequisite for enrolment besides having an open-minded attitude and a will to work collaboratively.
Grading Scale (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
Pass/Fail
Registration for Courses (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
WebOodi
Further Information (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
UWAS course selection criteria: Registration order is not the primary selection criteria for this course. In order to ensure that students from different programs and schools of Aalto University may take UWAS courses, the selection is also based on the variety of students' disciplines. Master's students are also welcome.
- Teacher: Pejoska Jana
- Teacher: Tervo Juuso