Tarcan / A Messy Autoethnographic Documentation of Making with the Environment

A Messy Autoethnographic Documentation of Making with the Environment

Author: Berilsu Tarcan, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Supervisor: Ida Nilstad Pettersen, Associate Professor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Ferne Leigh Edwards, Postdoc Fellow Dr., Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Trond Are Øritsland, Associate Professor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Research stage: Initial Doctoral Stage

Category: Artefact

Abstract

The start of the Anthropocene traces back to the Industrial Revolution, which implies that industrial design as a field should rethink how design leads to consequences to the world. To shift from techno and human-centrism in design and to overcome the problems started by humans (such as the climate crisis, pollution, lack of natural resources, cultural manipulations) new methods in design studies that involve other-than-humans are crucial. Designers have possibilities to look from others’ perspectives, and these perspectives may be beneficial in changing worldviews. My PhD study suggests that looking from other-than-human’s perspectives and studying their relations is necessary for design. I demonstrate an early-stage investigation related to a direct handcrafting experience, the relationship of human and other-than-human actors in a design/making process. The other-than-humans in the study include the environment and materials.

Keywords: making with the environment, handicrafts, autoethnographic methods, other-than-humans, environment and design, materials in design, making, wool