Technology and Society 2019
If only: design, technology and society
Interaction Design Theory Seminar 4th semester
Table of contents:
Session 01 — Observation I
Session 02 — Observations II Spaces and Politics
Session 03 — Spaces
Session 04 — Artifacts and Politics
Session 05 — Ecosystems
Session 06 — Cybernetics Revisited
Session 07 — The Uses of Literacy
Session 08 — Anthropology of Hacking
Session 09 — Accelerationism
Session 10 — On the History and Empowerment of West African Workers
Session 11 — India’s shifting place in the world wide web of cotton
Session 12 — Silk Road: Old and New Networks
Class Feedback
Instructors:
Dr Joëlle Bitton
Dr Jean-Baptiste Labrune
Verena Ziegler
The seminar is split into three parts:
— Spaces, Artifacts and Ecosystems held by Verena Ziegler
— Technoculture and Society held by Dr Jean-Baptiste Labrune
— The Design of Trade held by Dr Joëlle Bitton
Session 01 — 18.02 Observation I
Readings:
- Georges Perec, “The Street,” in Species of Spaces and Other Pieces, (London: Penguin, 2008).
- William H. Whyte, The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, 1980; Chapter “The street” p. 54–60
The buildings stand one beside the other. They form a straight line. They are expected to form a line, and it’s a serious defect in them when they don’t do so. They are then said to be ‘subject to alignment’, meaning that they can by rights be demolished, so as to be rebuilt in a straight line with the others.
(Georges Perec, “The Street,” in Species of Spaces and Other Pieces, p.46)
His observations often go into detail and also take people’s behaviour into account. As soon as people don’t see space, they won’t use it. Georges Perec looks at ‘practical exercises’ for understanding the street.
Carry on until the scene becomes improbable, until you have the impression, for the briefest of moments, that you are in a strange town or, better still, until you can no longer understand what is happening or is not happening, until the whole place becomes strange, and you no longer even know that this is what is called a town, a street, buildings, pavement…
— Georges Perec, “The Street,” in Species of Spaces and Other Pieces, p.53
We have also briefly looked at an essay in which the person describes the environment in the perspective of the fish. It can therefore be quite trivial.
In the end we were able to select a location ourselves with the help of the practical exercises and to observe this thoroughly by taking notes. I chose the intersection before the ZHDK and noticed after 1 minute of observation that the cars and trucks are different in the majority and always came in thrusts, so that a rhythm was recognizable. The differentiation could be made even by auditory perception only.
Session 02 — 25.02 Observations II Spaces and Politics
Readings:
- Georges Perec, “The Street,” in Species of Spaces and Other Pieces, (London: Penguin, 2008).
- William H. Whyte, The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, 1980; Chapter “The street” p. 54–60
Anybody can be observed by anyone and everyone also wants to be observed. The development of the Internet has created a new level of social structure. Users voluntarily post images and videos on the web with the intention of gaining attention and acceptance.
He emphasizes that surveillance practices are not only outsourced processes, but are also applied in other institutions such as factories, schools and hospitals. Foucault was inspired by Jeremy Bentham’s concept of the “Panopticon”, which Foucault deals with in his chapter “Panoptism”.
Construction:
The original building consisted of an outer ring with evenly divided cells next to each other. Right in the centre of the ring was a tower in which a guard had a view of all the cells and could monitor every movement of the occupants. Each individual cell could be monitored in isolation, as contact between the occupants was blocked. The clever construction of blinds and partitions prevented direct light from entering, so that the tower could not be seen from the outside. Thus it was not clear to the prisoner whether a supervisor was present at the time and in which direction he was looking.
How does the Panopticon work? The main effect of the panopticon system is that it works perfectly even without permanent monitoring. The effect of disciplining can also be seen in situations where prisoners are not monitored. The mere feeling of the possibility of being monitored is internalized in the individual, so that the balance of power is constantly rebuilt.
Present / Future:
Years ago, Foucault anticipated the dangers of surveillance in the age of the Internet. The modern panopticon no longer needs a tower. The best example for this is Facebook: you have the feeling to increase your value by the number of Like-Buttons and behave accordingly. Even if one is aware that traces are left on the Internet and that these are stored and forwarded, one feels a certain necessity to behave as the invisible “guards” wish. Whether someone is standing in the tower or who is there is ultimately indifferent to the user. Only the knowledge of the existence of the tower is relevant.
Session 03 — 04.03 Spaces
Readings:
- Michel Foucault, “Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias”, Architecture /Mouvement/ Continuité, October, 1984; (“Des Espace Autres,” March 1967 Translated from the French by Jay Miskowiec)
Michel Foucault’s text “Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias” deals mainly with the term “heterotopy”. To distinguish it from utopias (= places without a real place or nowhere), Foucault names the other place, the non-place or counter-place (= heterotopia = other but nevertheless real place, which are characterized by a kind of mirror relationship to their environment (to which they refer, represent, reflect, reverse).
Mirrors are neither utopia nor heterotopia, but something in between.
6 Principles of a heterotopology:
- Heterotopias are universal. They exist in all cultures.
- Heterotopias are subject to reinterpretation within a society.
- At one place several incompatible placements are possible.
- Heterotopias are often bound to jumps in time (e.g. museums that “save time”).
- Heterotopias consist in a system of openings and closings.
- Heterotopias have a function in relation to the remaining space.
Examples:
Retirement homes, psychiatric clinics, prisons, cinemas, theaters, graveyards, caserns, gardens, museums, libraries, brothels, etc.
Types and heterotopias:
- Crisis heterotopia / deviation heterotopia (prisons, clinics)
- Heterotopias of time (festivals, fairs)
- Heterotopias of Eternity (Museum, Library)
- Illusory heterotopy (house of pleasure)
- Compensatory heterotopias (colony)
The question arises whether Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) is a utopia, heterotopia, both or neither? I would argue with VR and AR that it is something in between utopia and heterotopia, like in the mirror example in the text.
For the short presentations/performances I did a little experiment with the class. I tried to reproduce the space in my observation only with the help of patterns or close-up photos of different materials which everyone had to guess where it could be. Surprisingly, it was clear very quickly. It is our atelier at ZHdK.
Session 04 — 11.03 Artifacts and Politics
Readings:
- Langdon Winner, “Do Artifacts Have Politics?” in The Whale and the Reactor: A Search for Limits in an Age of High Technology (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986).
- Bruno Latour, “Where are the Missing Masses? The Sociology of a Few Mundane Artifacts,” in Shaping Technology / Building Society , ed. Wiebe E. Bijker and John Law (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992).
“No idea is more provocative in controversies about technology and society than the notion that technical things have political qualities.”
— Langdon Winner
Definition:
Politics:
“Arrangements of power and authority in human associations as well as the activities that take place within those arrangements.”
Artifacts/Technologies:
“All of modern practical artifice… smaller or larger pieces or systems of hardware of a specific kind.”
- Artifacts have political qualities — have a way of shaping society
- Certain artifacts were designed to create a particular social effect => Robert Moses Long Island bridges/highways
- These bridges were designed with the intention that buses couldn’t travel under them because they were low. => separate poor people (mostly African-Americans) with the upper middle class white Americans.
- Class and racial prejudice in the design or artifacts
- Bruno Latour’s “Where are the Missing Masses?” argues that we must consider “nonhumans” when analyzing the social structure of society. Technologies contain the ideas and morals of their creator, and these ideas are passed on to us as we attempt to learn how to make technology a part of our lives.
Examples:
Doors serve the purpose of a temporary wall => therefore it will not function properly if one walkst straight into it. With the help of conditioning we already know how certain doors get opened. The doors have trained/teach us how to use them. - People are more likely to interact with people who they know personally => interacting with those that they know how to “use”
Similar with technology => people approach new technological devices with caution.
“Technologies can be used in ways that enhance power, authority, and privilege over others.”
Nonhumans have inherited force, values, duties, and ethics over the years
- force humans to be ethical
- continuous problem
Media Example:
Seatbelt Chime:
Forces humans to behave as society expects them to by making them put on a seatbelt.
Session 05 — 18.03 Ecosystems
Readings:
- Jane Bennett, “Vibrant Matter — A Political Ecology of Things”, Published: January 2010: Chapter 7 “Political Ecologies” (pages 94–109)
In “Vibrant Matter — A Political Ecology of Things” Chapter 7, it is described that public spheres arise when a group of individuals has the same problem or the need to make a difference. These individuals come together when they are harmed by their own actions or those of others and try to seek new ones that restore their power, protect them from damage, or compensate for the harm they have done.
Essay topic presentation:
Climate demonstrations are currently taking place all over the world and are therefore a topical issue. These climate demos can hardly be overlooked in the media and I have also found several flyers in our school. The demo on 15 March 2019 was attended by a total of 12,000 participants in Zurich. This is an immense number on a rainy day.
Climate strikes in Switzerland are organised by a decentralised youth movement. A Swedish young activist Greta Thunberg called for worldwide school strikes at the end of 2018. A large group of young people came together on social media. Politicians did not react to the climate crisis and did not protect future generations. That is the reason for the monthly demos worldwide.
They demonstrated against global warming with posters and signs. After the protests, however, things looked desolate in many places. It’s a bit of a paradox — you demonstrate for the environment and then you just leave the garbage behind.
The next Klimademo will take place on 6 April 2019 and will be there as a neutral person to experience the demonstration live or to observe it more closely. Maybe I like something special. I would already have an idea to see and describe the event from the point of view of a demonstration sign.
Session 06 — 01.04 Cybernetics Revisited
Readings:
- C. R. Licklider. Man-Computer Symbiosis. IRE Transactions on Human Factors in Electronics, volume HFE-1, pages 4–11, March 1960 — (Full paper)
- Lucy. A. Suchman. Plans and Situated action: The problem of human-machine communication. ISL-6.
- Palo Alto Research Center. 1985 — (Pages 0 to 23 of the Pdf)
- Molly Wright Steenson: “Architectural Intelligence: How Designers and Architects Created the Digital Landscape 2018. (Full video)
Licklider describes Symbiosis in the text using an example with a fig tree. A specific insect pollinates the fig tree and in turn the larvae of the insect live in the ovary of the fig tree, feeding there as well. Therefore the two are very dependent on each other and individually they would be threatened with extinction. Together they form not only a viable partnership but also a productive and thriving one. The close connection/coexistence of two different organisms is called symbiosis.
A symbiosis between man and machine does not yet exist, but in the near future it is highly probable that the brain of a human being will be intimately linked to the computer. The brain would be able to process data like never before and this would take the progress or question of existence to a new dimension.
Lucy Suchman argues that the problem of human-machine communication lies in how we as humans understand the way we act; and the methods by which we communicate and understand each other.
The interaction between humans and computers has changed over time. Machine operation is determined less by pressing buttons with a specific result than by specifying operations and evaluating their impact through the use of a common language. The challenge is to bring the conversation between man and machine to the same level without any lag/delay (0 input & output lag/0 delay) so that there are no misinterpretations.
I ask myself whether this will ever be possible, and if so, it would definitely initiate the evolution of humanity (“transhuman”). The human-machine relationship is getting closer and closer and nowadays we are already able to merge with machines. They optimize our hearing and vision or improve our health through their actions, like the pacemaker. Currently, there are hearing aids on the market that allow their wearers to record sounds, generate white noise and even have a built-in smartphone. The University of Oregon is currently working on bionic eyes to help blind people see. In the future, there will be more and more prostheses that will not only be used for people with disabilities, but will be available for everyone and will optimize our capabilities. For example, there are so-called exoskeletons. But also the complete storing, copying and rewriting of a human consciousness is imaginable. This would lead to immortality via machines.
Session 07 — 08.04 The Uses of Literacy
Readings:
- Richard Hoggart. The Uses of Literacy: Aspects of Working Class Life. Penguin Books 1957 / Routledge 1998 — (Chapter 1)
- Victor Papanek. Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change, New York, Pantheon Books. 1971. (Chapter 4)
- Dominique Pasquier. The Internet of Low-Income Families. A Survey in Rural France, Paris, Presses des Mines, (L’internet des familles modestes. Enquête dans la France rurale), 2018. (Introduction)
- Walter J. Ong. Orality and Literacy: the technologization of the word. 1982. Methuen, London. (2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2002) (Pages 181 to 186 of the Pdf)
Victor Papanek’s article Do-It-Yourself Murder focuses on the human and designer needs as the main constraint in all design problems.
“The truth is that engineers are not asked to design for safety. Further inaction mil be criminal - for it will be with full knowledge that our
action can make a difference, that auto deaths can be cut down, that the slaughter on our highways is needless waste . . . it is time to act.”
— Robert F. Kennedy
A spirited quote by Robert F. Kennedy is opening this chapter, posing upfront some of the most important problems debated and encouraging immediate action: Are the designers working for the right reasons? And are they designing for the people? Papanek then makes us see “where responsibility really lies” and gives an example that it takes approx. 600 workers from different states in the USA to produce or market a radio. These people even leave their homes and buy new ones in the vicinity of the factory, and in addition new stores open up. If you now assume that the radios don’t sell well, these workers can’t be paid anymore, the shops go bankrupt and a rising rate of heart attacks could increase.
Papanek attacks the American commodity culture directly and blames corporate policy and economic concerns for the lack of interest in the lower half of the triangle. He emphasizes that design should serve a moral code that recognizes the human need for entertainment and leisure, but not by sacrificing physical and psychological needs. He noted that design is a luxury used only by the few who make up the world’s elite, while many poor people from Africa, Southeast Asia or the Indian natives are missing from a designer’s list. But at the same time, the few of them who do are ignored and accused of “minority design”. The solution he finds is to clarify people’s perceptions. In conclusion, he concludes that any designer could afford a small amount of time for that, although he is aware that greedy companies would never agree to such a way of thinking. However, at the end of his statement, Papanek encourages design students to work this way and tell them, “Design for many, not for the money,” convinced that it is possible to introduce a different way of thinking about design problems so that they can “develop the kind of social and moral responsibility required in design”.
An example of this would be the first smartphones or the first iPhone, where you always had “the Internet” with you. The middle to high class could initially afford such devices and could do their jobs faster and more efficiently on the go, saving time instead of doing everything at work or at home. As with any technology, the lower class gains access to such technologies later as the market is flooded with time, while the demand decreases. Therefore, it becomes cheaper over time and even for the lower class affordable.
Conclusion:
In my opinion, the designer should always be aware of what their products and services can do to society/people. There are many companies that don’t want to waste their time questioning everything critically. The negative consequences are likely to be suppressed as long as the profit is right. It should be a healthy mix of both. So I would change Papanek’s quote a bit: “Design for many, not ONLY for the money”.
Innovation is ALSO kept alive by money revenue and profit.
Session 08 — 15.04 Anthropology of Hacking
Readings:
- Gabriella Coleman, A Golub. Hacker practice: Moral genres and the cultural articulation of liberalism”. Anthropological Theory. 8 (3): 255–277. 2008 https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/uploads/003/679/255.pdf (Pages 4 to 13 of the Pdf)
- SSL Nagbot. Feminist Hacking/Making: Exploring New Gender Horizons of Possibilities. The Journal of Peer Production. January 2016 http://peerproduction.net/issues/issue-8-feminism-and-unhacking/feminist-hackingmaking-exploring-new-gender-horizons-of-possibility/(Pages 1 to 3 of the Pdf)
- S.Wuschitz 2014, “Feminist hackerspaces: a research on feminist space collectives in open culture” PhD dissertation, University of Vienna, Austria. (pages 46 to 61 of the Pdf)
- Maxigas. (2012) Hacklabs and hackerspaces: Tracing two genealogies.Journal of Peer Production (2). 2012 http://peerproduction.net/issues/issue-2/peer-reviewed-papers/hacklabs-and-hackerspaces(Pages 1 to 5 of the Pdf)
Worldwide there are different hacker communities in which the participants essentially distinguish their ethics and actions. They are communities where people with a technological affinity meet to generate, socialize and exchange knowledge.
There are Hacklabs and Hackerspaces, which Maxigas mentions:
Hacklabs are driven by a political purpose that responds to the needs of social and political movements. They intend to give oppressed minorities the power to develop an independent, political impact in state affairs.
Hacker spaces do not act politically. Their focus is on science and business or innovation, with the conviction that these issues will have great implications for technological progress for mankind in the future. Hacker spaces exist in physical form and they also exist online.
Coleman and Golub continue to highlight the differences in hacker ethics and how they have established themselves in three different forms of hacker practices: Crypto freedom, free and open source software and the hacker underground.
Crypto freedom and free and open source software:
– freedom of speech
– privacy
– open and shared knowledge
Underground hacker:
– act for the thrill
– in search of challenges to prove themselves to others
– rather illegal activities — breaking rules is standard
One thing in common:
Hacking is used as an act of expressing the individual self. It relies heavily on the notion of subjectivity — that of expressing their inner self through creative actions. These actions are a deeply moral act and need to be recognised by others in order for the person to be fully expressive of themself (Coleman and Golub, p. 267).
It is also important to note that the activities of hacking depend heavily on a sense of community — sharing knowledge and being accessible to all kinds of people is a necessity for the hacker culture to thrive and exist. Wuschitz continues that open source information can only exist in cultures that do not privilege certain groups (p.46).
The activities of hacking depend heavily on a sense of community. Sharing knowledge is a necessity for the hacker culture to exist. I wonder myself whether as a beginner with little or no previous knowledge you can join a hacker community or not. If not, are hack labs and hacker spaces only accessible to privileged people?
Session 09 — 29.04 Accelerationism
Readings:
- Mark Fisher. Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative ? Zero Books, 2009 (First chapter)
- Sadie Plant. Zeroes + ones: digital women and the new technoculture. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1997 (Pages 105 to 120 of the Pdf)
- Robin Mackay. Armen Avessian. #Accelerate: The Accelerationist Reader. Urbanomic 2014 / MIT press 2019. (Pages 355 to 370 of the Pdf)
Capitalism provides for technical progress and this leads to technical acceleration.
Accelerationism is a more recent political theory: it wants to beat capitalism with its own means and bring about its faster collapse — above all by accelerating current developments with modern technical means.
What does accelerationism want, what does it turn against? It is against deceleration, , against “critical illiteracy” in matters of technology, the cult of mindfulness, and fixation on the present. Instead, it propagates acceleration, automation, the appropriation of modern technologies, the becoming one with the machine. Accelerationism wants to think the present from the future.
This progress could come at a point in time (probably the invention of true AI = an AI that improves itself) which is basically the moment tech gets so advanced it solves likely all our problems and even provides humans with biological immortality. I can’t see capitalists giving away their wealth under command of a disembodied intelligence.
Session 10 — 06.05 On the History and Empowerment of West African Workers
Readings:
- Kate Meagher, Laura Manna and Maxim Bolt, “Making the Right Connections: Globalization, Economic Inclusion and African workers”. Journal of Development Studies. 2016.
- Cassandra Mark-Thiesen, “Labour Recruitment in the Nineteenth Century: The Place of Practicality” (Ch. 2). In Mediators, Contract Men, and Colonial Capital: Mechanized Gold Mining in the Gold Coast Colony, 1879–1909, University of Rochester Press, 2018.
Cassandra Mark-Thiesen highlights in the text the complex interaction between money, labour and economy during the initial phase of colonialism. She discovers the complex network of industrial relations within the mining town of Wassa, Gold Coast (today Ghana).
She focuses on one of West Africa’s earliest major industries (Wassa gold mines) on the Gold Coast, primarily not dealing primarily with the traditional working class. Rather, it examines the working relationship between the “white and black” people, including the presence of migrants from different parts of West Africa, casual workers and part-time workers, composed of men and women.
The majority of the labour were mainly Liberian agents who contracted a large number of workers to the mining companies. This allowed them to reduce their costs by imposing on African recruiters the burden of negotiating payments, transporting and managing welfare and retaining employees. As a result, recruiters were granted a degree of autonomy without being direct employees of the mining company. It was more like a cooperation between the two parties.
The labourers, for their part, also carried out their activities either by leaving the mines in search of other lucrative but less harmful jobs, or by seeking credit from third party creditors, on the understanding that ‘the recruiter supervisor is responsible for ensuring that their money is returned’ (90). It was also interesting to see that according to the table (Table 2.1 and Table 2.2) there were only men in the underground and aboveground mixed with a much higher proportion of men.
From the point of view of Kate Meagher, Laura Manna and Maxim Boltb, jobs are activities that generate income in the form of money or benefits in kind (formal or informal). Not all forms of work can be regarded as work. Activities that are carried out against the will of the worker or violate human rights should not be regarded as jobs, instead as a form of enslavement.
Session 11 — 13.05 India’s shifting place in the world wide web of cotton, c. 1600–1950
Readings:
- Sven Beckert, “Emancipation and Empire: Reconstructing the Worldwide Web of Cotton Production in the Age of the American Civil War”. The American Historical Review, Vol. 109, №5 (December 2004), Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association.
- Giorgi Riello, “The Globalization of cotton textiles. Indian Cottons, Europe, and the Atlantic World, 1600–1850”. In Prasannan Parthasarathi and Giorgio Riello, eds, The Spinning World: A Global History of Cotton Textiles, 1200–1850 (Oxford, 2009).
“The new global political economy of cotton was the outcome of a struggle in which workers and slaves, peasant and sharecroppers, merchant and manufacturers, imperial rulers and government bureaucrats, soldiers and economists, played important roles. Often removed from one another by oceans, and inhabiting religious, cultural, and social worlds that were all but mutually incomprehensible, these actors still encountered one another in their common desire to alter their own place within the worldwide web of cotton production. The global empire of cotton, torn asunder by the Civil War, was pulling together far-flung threads to create warp and woof of a new global political economy.
— Beckert, 2004
Cotton has influenced world history over thousands of years and into the 20th century. Great inventions, conquests and the slave trade were directly related to cotton. The countries of the world were connected more and more by cotton cultivation.
Cotton was the resistance fight of the Indians against the colonial power England with and around cotton. India, the country of origin of cotton, was exploited because of this raw material. Indian farmers and weavers lost their income. Mahatma Gandhi, the spiritual leader of India’s independence, made the spinning wheel a symbol of non-violent resistance. As a role model for all Indians he spun his cotton himself and called for no cheap cotton fabrics to be bought from England.
The inventors of cotton fabrics and dresses lived thousands of years ago in today’s India and Pakistan, Mexico and Peru. In ancient times, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and the rest of Europe used indigenous fibres such as linen, hemp and wool. However, the Silk Road also brought expensive silk and cotton fabrics to the Mediterranean region at an early date. Cotton fabrics became known throughout Europe in the Middle Ages as a result of the voyages of discovery and the conquests by seafarers. The cloth weavers in England processed cotton from the late 17th century onwards. They got the raw material from the colonies and from America. The demand for cotton grew and grew. More and more cotton plantations were planted on which slaves had to work. An era of great inventions began and the Industrial Revolution changed the world from now on. In Germany cotton gained importance only in the 19th century.
The history of cotton in America is linked to the misery of many millions of people who came from Africa. In the colonial power England there was an insatiable demand for the raw material cotton. Much money could be earned with the “white gold” and greed grew. Cotton plantations were established in the southern states of North America. The farmers wanted a lot of cheap labour. Already in 1619 a ship brought the first Africans to Virginia. The injustice done to Africans is unimaginable.
With the slave trade a lot of money was earned for 350 years and even more suffering was caused. Europeans traded goods for people on Africa’s coasts. For human trafficking, young Africans in particular were hunted and captured like animals. They were loaded onto ships in chains like cattle. Many did not survive the crossing to America. Arrived there, they were sold as slaves on slave markets. Between 1519 and 1867 approx. 10–12 million Africans were kidnapped from their homeland to America.
Session 12 — 20.05 Silk Road: Old and New Networks
Readings:
- Hansen, Valerie. (2012). The Silk Road: A New History. New York, Oxford University Press. Read Intro in depth and browse the rest of the book for general overview.
- You, Mi. (2018). Silk Roads, Tributary Networks and Old and New Imperialism. Extra States: Nations in Liquidation. C. Edwards and i. Fokianaki. Antwerp, Kunsthal Extra City.
The Silk Road is a series of routes leading from Asia to Europe and vice versa. The word refers mainly to the time from the ancient Romans to the Middle Ages. The name Silk Road (Seidenstrasse) was invented by a geographer named Ferdinand von Richthofen much later. By using the Silk Road or the Silk Route, for example, silk was brought to Europe to be sold at high prices, because the material could only be produced in China and not in Europe.
Other expensive goods were spices and precious stones, but also tea and fruits such as oranges. However, travellers have sometimes brought diseases with them. One example is the plague (Black Death) at the end of the Middle Ages.
At that time it was also very dangerous to travel: Robbers could ambush you. That’s why the merchants travelled in groups, the so-called caravans. Together they could defend themselves better. Therefore the old Silk Road was used by many people of different cultures and religions.
The dynamic, decentralized network of the historical Silk Road and the flexible tributary system point to the strength and resilience of such networks.
The Silk Road is still topical today, as the ancient route is being revived. China is investing huge sums of money to facilitate freight traffic on the Silk Road and strengthen its legitimacy. The worldwide trade in goods will benefit from this expansion.
Unfortunately, this expansion also entails risks. According to international researchers, some regions of the world are highly likely to be affected by the invasion of non-indigenous species, which could damage biodiversity and ecosystems.
Class Feedback
I found the theory sessions generally exciting and also instructive. A lot of things were known to me but some topics were also unknown, of which I had never heard before. For example session 03–04.03 Spaces with the Utopias and Heterotopias, which I personally liked most of all. To distinguish it from utopias (= places without a real place or nowhere), Foucault names the other place, the non-place or counter-place (= heterotopia) and I ask myself, if we are just a simulation (simulation theory) whether our world or world view would be a utopia or heterotopias or even both like the mirror example. With AR/VR it would be a bit clearer to define. Session 04–11.03 Artifacts and Politics was well communicated and understandable and the knowledge that the bridges were designed to separate the poor people (mostly African-Americans) with the middle to upper class was impressive. This shows me that a design decision can have a very big impact… unfortunately also in the negative and most of the time you are not aware how much a design decision can influence society. This example will always remain in the back of my mind. Session 06–01.04 Cybernetics Revisited was also great and Session 09–29.04 Accelerationism was interesting (positive way :D)… unfortunately much too complicated and incomprehensible. That would be the only thing I would have to “criticize”. Perhaps giving easier/simpler examples.
Spaces:
- Certain artifacts were designed to create a particular social effect => Robert Moses Long Island bridges/highways
= Design decisions are able to create big social effects. Therefore in practice this should always be taken into account in all projects so that it does not go in the wrong/negative direction. - As soon as people don’t see space, they won’t use it — Georges Perec
= If there is a project in my path that goes in the direction of places, these places should be designed with people and not without people. Surveys, observations and tests with people are crucial. - Seatbelt Chime: Forces humans to behave as society expects them to by making them put on a seatbelt
= Sound Design can also do a lot with a person’s behaviour. Therefore it is immensely important or even life-saving (if you work in this sector) to consider this and not to underestimate it. An annoying beeping in the car, because you are not wearing a seat belt, because you were “lazy”, can “force” the person to wear a seat belt. The sound can be very annoying with time and it’s fascinating to see, that sound design is important and even life saving for some situations.
Technoculture:
- The activities of hacking depend heavily on a sense of community.
= In a community, you are usually stronger than alone because each person has their own weaknesses and strengths. Everyone has also acquired their knowledge and with the help of a community they can share their knowledge and experiences with each other. I myself have often noticed that products that have emerged from a community have a considerable advantage and can make “well-known” companies look old. Marketing is strong, but not stronger than a more sophisticated product from a more “undiscovered” source or company. - There are many companies that don’t want to waste their time questioning everything critically. The negative consequences are likely to be suppressed as long as the profit is right.
= It should be a healthy mix of both. So I would change Papanek’s quote a bit: “Design for many, not only for the money” because innovation is also kept alive by money revenue and profit. For this reason, in practice one should also think economically and have the real world before one’s eyes, even if one prefers to design in its own dream world. - The close connection/coexistence of two different organisms is called symbiosis.
= Interaction designers who work with engineers, for example, to put a product on the right track to provide customers with the best possible service. One discipline cannot do everything from A to Z, so there are several disciplines involved in a project that are interdependent (even if sometimes they don’t get along).
Trade:
- By using the Silk Road or the Silk Route, for example, silk was brought to Europe to be sold at high prices, because the material could only be produced in China and not in Europe.
= Silk Road shows how important trade between several nations is. In a trade dispute, unfortunately, there are only losers and no winners. Therefore, in practice you should not create enemies but friends instead and always pay attention to fairness. A perfect example between 2 competing companies! - Activities that are carried out against the will of the worker or violate human rights should not be regarded as jobs, instead as a form of enslavement.
= A design decision can wipe out jobs while also generating new jobs. as in the current Service design module, we had worked out a concept in which a kind of pick up automat stands in front of a food store and can preorder the purchase via an app in order to comfortably pick it up and thus save time. a kind of underground infrastructure would have to be set up in order to transport the food in the automat. It immediately became clear to us that it would not be humane (e.g. no sunlight) to carry people into the underground to do the work. - The Silk Road is still topical today, as the ancient route is being revived.
= Unfortunately, this expansion also entails risks. According to international researchers, some regions of the world are highly likely to be affected by the invasion of non-indigenous species, which could damage biodiversity and ecosystems. In practice, this means that you should always list the advantages and disadvantages.
