Syllabus

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• understand how codesign can facilitate social change in different socio-techno-economic settings;
• critically assess potentials and pitfalls of different strategies to social change in particular contexts;
• plan projects so that the merits and downsides of different ways, combinations, intensities and resources for fostering change are adequately addressed;
• assess potentials and pitfalls of different approaches to codesign for social change.

Credits: 6

Schedule: 21.10.2024 - 29.11.2024

Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Sampsa Hyysalo

Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):

CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):

Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):

Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  The course provides students with basic understanding and competences to build design projects aimed towards social change through codesign arrangements. The course has two key themes:

  1. Theories and key concepts of social change (Predominantly week one, but deepened across the course) provides a selective overview of most design relevant research on what it takes to achieve significant social change. DSC provides basics of core concepts, including sociotechnical systems, path dependence and path creation, sociotechnical couplings and interdependencies, practice change, activist and post-capitalist frameworks, policy issues and economic drivers. These resources are key to understanding what is involved in social change, particularly sociotechnical change, which is typically the type of social change where design is involved.
  2. Collaborative design for social change: collaborative design – extending design from professionals to impacted peoples and relevant stakeholders – is often a prerequisite for fostering social change. The interests, resources, legitimacy and enthusiasm of these people need to be met for a change initiative to have a chance to succeed. This is very difficult for designers to approximate these in their studio alone. DSC features a set of hands-on exercises and associated learning materials on key aspects of planning and running different types of collaborative design in different settings. Successful design collaboration requires analyzing the big picture contexts and working from there to the nitty gritty details of designing for collaboration (… and back again). The student groups use these learning to devise a plan for use (or non-use) of collaborative design as part of their extended project brief and, if practicable, also enact some of the planned actions.
   

Assessment Methods and Criteria

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Group assignments 70% – 100% active attendance, of which 20% can be covered with additional assignments. Individual literature assessment 30%

Workload

• valid for whole curriculum period:

   Overall workload 6 cr = 162 hrs:

  • Lectures, in-class discussions and in-class work with tutoring: 98 h
  • Independent studying: 25h
  • Personal reflection: 22h
  • Course evaluation: 1h

DETAILS

Study Material

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Will be announced in the beginning of the course. Available in MyCourses.

Substitutes for Courses

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Substitutes for Courses

Prerequisites

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Prerequisites

SDG: Sustainable Development Goals

7 Affordable and Clean Energy

9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

10 Reduced Inequality

11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

12 Responsible Production and Consumption

13 Climate Action

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Information

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Teaching Language: English

  Teaching Period: 2024-2025 Autumn II
  2025-2026 Autumn II

  Registration:

  Registration in Sisu. Minimum number of students 10, maximum number of students 30.  Priority is given to students in the Collaborative and Industrial Design major.

  Priority order:

  1. CoID and CS master students;
  2. Doctoral students;
  3. Other Aalto master students, including exchange students.

  Otherwise, priority order to courses is according to the order of priority decided by the Academic committee for School of Arts, Design and Architecture, https//www.aalto.fi/en/services/registering-to-courses-and-the-order-of-priority-at-aalto-arts  

   

Description