FSAD 6800 - Ethical Design: Engine of Positive Change

(crosslisted) DEA 6800

Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

R. Leitao, H. Park.

Modern society faces various issues which are all closely related to the ethical aspects of design: humanitarian crises, labor exploitation, injustice in the workplace, loss of diversity, over-consumption, pollution, lack of transparency and pseudo-solutions to name a few. This course will discuss various ethical issues in design that impact individuals, community/society, economies, cultures, social dynamics, and the environment. Students will identify and analyze critical ethical problems and explore solutions through class activities.

Outcome 1: Think critically about the main fields of design practice, identifying the ethical challenges of each in terms of current environmental, social, and health crises.

Outcome 2: Investigate the impact of unethical design, production, and marketing practices on individuals, social groups, and the environment.

Outcome 3: Identify the difference between pseudo-solutions that mitigate the symptoms of harmful practices and those initiatives and approaches that address the harm caused by the current production and consumption systems.