Syllabus

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After successful completion of the course, the student is able to:

• Identify, contextualise and articulate the driving interest at the core of their design work;
• Research and articulate the social or cultural changes pertinent to their interest;
• Create an inspiring textual and visual narrative in the academic context;
• Explain how social and cultural changes are born and gain momentum.

Credits: 6

Schedule: 16.04.2025 - 04.06.2025

Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Heidi Paavilainen

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:

  In the course, students are guided through a process by which they learn to dive deep into analysing an issue or phenomenon they are interested in, contextualising their interest with relevant past and present cultural and societal changes, and developing insights that communicate the core and context of their interest. Students work by gradually establishing what their interest is about, which local and global temporal developments it is part of, what does it stand for, what are the key moments, figures and concepts in its past and present, and what kind of impact it has and might have in a specified context. Learning is supported with tutoring, readings and lectures on, for example, societal and cultural trend mechanisms and the history and theory of societal innovations. Writing and visualising the resulting narrative is supported with an introduction to the story building applied in an academic context. The course trains in and supports any kind of design-intensive insight development, including developing MA thesis argumentation.

Assessment Methods and Criteria

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Participation in teaching, course work.

Workload

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Lectures, discussion, independent course work, readings. Min. 80% attendance is mandatory.

  Workload 162 h

  • Contact teaching 20 h
  • Independent work 109 h
  • Personal reflection 32 h
  • Course evaluation 1 h

DETAILS

Study Material

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Provided in MyCourses.

Substitutes for Courses

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Substitutes for Courses

Prerequisites

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Prerequisites

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Information

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Teaching Language: English

  Teaching Period: 2024-2025 Spring V
  2025-2026 Spring V

  Registration:

  Registration in Sisu. Min. 10, max 30 students.

  Priority order:

  1. CoID Major students;
  2. Design, IDBM, CS students;
  3. ARTS MA programme students;
  4. other Aalto Master's programme students.

  Otherwise, priority order 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