This class examines different aspects of design by looking at larger questions of production, consumption, and use and how these issues become part of a larger discourse about design and culture. We will assess the relationship between design and culture in a critical and visual manner -- by thinking about and visualizing the inter-relation of gender, power, ethics, status, and race within design practices and artifacts. We will read theoretical, historical, social, and political literature and that enables us to explore these complicated topics in depth. Ultimately, design studies offer us a “critical” approach in exploring and evaluating how design operates as a cultural, economic and social form. The lecture portion of this course will be offered asynchronously in Spring 2021, with select moments during the semester for us to come together as a collective group. Pathway: Design Studies