Post-development anthropologist Arturo Escobar has argued that twentieth century industrial design stood at the forefront of the negotiation and materialization of transnational issues of decolonization, westernization, and modernization. This lecture considers the rise of design as a political and social force, tied to the mechanisms and ideologies of development policy, through a focus on the work of design theorist Victor Papanek.
Alison J. Clarke is professor of Design History and Theory at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and founding director of the Papanek Foundation. As a design historian (RCA/V&A, London) and trained social anthropologist (University College London), her research explores the intersection of design, material culture and anthropology. Her most recent monograph Victor Papanek: The Politics of Design (MIT Press, 2020) explores the controversial origins of social design and her latest book project focuses on the historical origins of design anthropology.
