Conversations continued …
“Hanging out, talking, sharing stories, engaging in sweet dialectical exchange ushered me into a community of committed, engaged thinkers that had heretofore been absent from my life.”
bell hooks
With Teaching Design Conversations continued..., we reflect on design education through dialogues – facilitating critical reflection and counter-knowledge production. Growing from our temporary library project, these conversations share practices and perspectives among educators, students, alumni and staff from both institutional and self-organized contexts. We work toward transforming design education collectively. Dialogue, embraced in feminist and decolonial discourses, allows us to listen, give speaking time, take each other seriously, and embrace differences. Conversations are recorded, then sensitively edited with our partners, respecting the political and personal nature of topics discussed.
Screenshot of our first conversation with Karolina Krupickova, Pras Gunasekara and Oluwatomilola Adefioye
Conversations continued… is made possible with the kind support of Stimuleringsfonds
#1
About Confronting Racism and Challenging Hierarchies in Design Education – A conversation with Oluwatomilola (Tomi) Adefioye, Pras Gunasekera and karolina krupickova
This transcript captures a dialogue between design educators and recent MA graduates discussing challenges in design education. The participants—Tomi Adefioye, Pras Gunasekera, and karolina krupickova—explore issues including racism in educational institutions, adapting to pandemic-era teaching, curriculum decolonization, and tensions between academic freedom and commercial pressures. They share experiences of marginalization, discuss the lack of diverse representation among teaching staff, and reflect on pedagogical approaches that challenge dominant narratives. The conversation emphasizes participatory design, creating space for questioning established structures, and reimagining design education from intersectional feminist and decolonial perspectives.
#2
Finding Space for Critical Design Practice and Education – A conversation with Claude Nasser and Ruben Pater
This conversation between Claude Nasser and Ruben Pater explores design education's relationship to capitalist structures, comparing experiences in Lebanon and the Netherlands. They discuss how design education often prioritizes marketable knowledge over critical thinking. The discussion touches on educational institutions as commodified spaces, the position of designers as privileged, and the potential of “undercommons” – spaces between the institutional apparatus where critical thinking can flourish despite market pressures.
#3
Care as Practice: Reimagining Design Education – A conversation with Alice Wong and Simpson Tse
This conversation features designers Alice Wong and Simpson Tse discussing the complexities of design education, focusing on care and its absence in institutional settings. They reflect on their experiences as both students and teachers, highlighting issues of mental health support, emotional labor, and power dynamics. The dialogue examines how educational institutions often perpetuate individualistic approaches rather than fostering collective ways of working. Both speakers advocate for more supportive teaching methods and question whether current educational structures adequately prepare students for real-world design practice while prioritizing their wellbeing.
#4
Creating Conditions for Empowerment in Design Education – A conversation with Benedetta Crippa and Johanna Lewengard
This conversation explores the dynamics of design education through the experiences of Benedetta Crippa and Johanna Lewengard. They discuss the complementary roles of institutional educators who work on long-term structural change and visiting practitioners who bring current practice into the classroom. Both positions require different kinds of emotional labor. The educators reflect on building trust with students, establishing non-violent hierarchies in the classroom, and the responsibility of teachers. They emphasize the importance of sustainable teaching conditions and how education shapes design practice. The conversation highlights feminist pedagogy's role in empowering rather than suppressing students.
#5
Creating Safer Spaces: Student-Led Transformation in Design Education – A conversation with Katharina Brenner, Luisa Herbst, Destina Atasayar and Lucie Jo Knilli
This conversation features four visual communication students from UdK Berlin discussing their self-organized seminar "Eine Krise bekommen" with hosts Lisa and Judith. They explore problematic structures in design education including mental health issues, toxic work environments, and discrimination. The students describe how organizing collectively empowered them to critique institutional norms like night shifts, constant productivity expectations, and competitive atmospheres. They share practical approaches to creating safer learning spaces through action cards, questionnaires, and flexible structures. The dialogue emphasizes the importance of care, collective exchange, and questioning established hierarchies in design education.
About Confronting Racism and Challenging Hierarchies in Design Education – A conversation with Oluwatomilola (Tomi) Adefioye, Pras Gunasekera and karolina krupickova
This transcript captures a dialogue between design educators and recent MA graduates discussing challenges in design education. The participants—Tomi Adefioye, Pras Gunasekera, and karolina krupickova—explore issues including racism in educational institutions, adapting to pandemic-era teaching, curriculum decolonization, and tensions between academic freedom and commercial pressures. They share experiences of marginalization, discuss the lack of diverse representation among teaching staff, and reflect on pedagogical approaches that challenge dominant narratives. The conversation emphasizes participatory design, creating space for questioning established structures, and reimagining design education from intersectional feminist and decolonial perspectives.
#2
Finding Space for Critical Design Practice and Education – A conversation with Claude Nasser and Ruben Pater
This conversation between Claude Nasser and Ruben Pater explores design education's relationship to capitalist structures, comparing experiences in Lebanon and the Netherlands. They discuss how design education often prioritizes marketable knowledge over critical thinking. The discussion touches on educational institutions as commodified spaces, the position of designers as privileged, and the potential of “undercommons” – spaces between the institutional apparatus where critical thinking can flourish despite market pressures.
#3
Care as Practice: Reimagining Design Education – A conversation with Alice Wong and Simpson Tse
This conversation features designers Alice Wong and Simpson Tse discussing the complexities of design education, focusing on care and its absence in institutional settings. They reflect on their experiences as both students and teachers, highlighting issues of mental health support, emotional labor, and power dynamics. The dialogue examines how educational institutions often perpetuate individualistic approaches rather than fostering collective ways of working. Both speakers advocate for more supportive teaching methods and question whether current educational structures adequately prepare students for real-world design practice while prioritizing their wellbeing.
#4
Creating Conditions for Empowerment in Design Education – A conversation with Benedetta Crippa and Johanna Lewengard
This conversation explores the dynamics of design education through the experiences of Benedetta Crippa and Johanna Lewengard. They discuss the complementary roles of institutional educators who work on long-term structural change and visiting practitioners who bring current practice into the classroom. Both positions require different kinds of emotional labor. The educators reflect on building trust with students, establishing non-violent hierarchies in the classroom, and the responsibility of teachers. They emphasize the importance of sustainable teaching conditions and how education shapes design practice. The conversation highlights feminist pedagogy's role in empowering rather than suppressing students.
#5
Creating Safer Spaces: Student-Led Transformation in Design Education – A conversation with Katharina Brenner, Luisa Herbst, Destina Atasayar and Lucie Jo Knilli
This conversation features four visual communication students from UdK Berlin discussing their self-organized seminar "Eine Krise bekommen" with hosts Lisa and Judith. They explore problematic structures in design education including mental health issues, toxic work environments, and discrimination. The students describe how organizing collectively empowered them to critique institutional norms like night shifts, constant productivity expectations, and competitive atmospheres. They share practical approaches to creating safer learning spaces through action cards, questionnaires, and flexible structures. The dialogue emphasizes the importance of care, collective exchange, and questioning established hierarchies in design education.