The Routledge Companion to Practicing Anthropology and Design by Spears, Jenessa Mae; Miller, Christine Z;

Short description:

The Routledge Companion to Practicing Anthropology and Design provides a comprehensive overview of the history of the relationship between these two fields and their current state, outlining key concepts and current debates as well as positing directions for future practice and research.  

Long description:

The Routledge Companion to Practicing Anthropology and Design provides a comprehensive overview of the history of the relationship between these two fields and their current state, outlining key concepts and current debates as well as positing directions for future practice and research.  

Bringing together original work from a diverse group of established and emerging professionals, this volume joins a wider conversation about the trajectory of this transdisciplinary movement inspired by the continuing evolution of anthropology and design as they have adapted to accelerating and unpredictable conditions in arenas that span sectors, economies, socio-cultural groups, and geographies. It homes in on both the growing convergence and tensions between them while exploring how individuals from both fields have found ways of mixing, experimenting, and evolving theory and new forms of practice, highlighting the experimental theories and practices their transdisciplinarity has generated.

The Routledge Companion to Practicing Anthropology and Design is a valuable reference tool for practitioners, scholars, and upper-level students in the fields of anthropology and design as well as related disciplines.

“Raising practice and scholarship to the next level is the outcome of this exciting, edited volume. It takes the mystery out of the anthropology-design interface while demolishing disciplinary silos and creating expansive opportunities for input from ordinary folk. Planning for and adapting to our collective future is the business of all, not the select few.”

- Elizabeth K. Briody, PhD, Cultural Keys LLC, Founder and Principal.

“An illuminating yet practical set of case studies that dive into the intersection of anthropology and design, The Companion draws on rich frameworks and real-world examples to highlight the power and applicability of converging these two disciplines. Whether you’re a practicing designer, a seasoned anthropologist, or simply intrigued by the dynamics of designing for humans, The Companion is an inspiring read.” 

- Gabriella Lanning, UX Research Lead at Google

Table of Contents:

Foreword – Kevin Bethune; Introduction - Jenessa Mae Spears and Christine Z Miller; Section 1: Design + Anthropology Foundations; Introduction - Christine Z Miller and Jenessa Mae Spears; 1. Systems, Complexity, and Human Experience in Design Anthropology: From User-Centeredness to User Ecosystem Thinking - Benjamin Chesluk and Michael Youngblood; 2. The Dance of the Practitioner of Design Anthropology – Anna Kirah; 3. The Many Meanings of Design Anthropology – Brandon Meyer; 4. Gentrification Goes Big Box: The Role of Designers in Curating the Aesthetics of Neighborhood Change and their Mobilization to the Mass Market – Lisa Berglund; 5. Participatory Design and Action Research: Notes on an Unfinished Agenda in Design Anthropology – Kendall House; 6. Ethics of the Possible: Learning Design Anthropology with the Field - Raquel Gomes Noronha and Edson José Carpintero Rezende; 7. Tactics for Anthropology + Design Beyond the Academic & Applied Binary - Angela K. VandenBroek; 8. From Classroom Learning to Client Experience - Susan Squires; Section 2: Praxis Projects & Case Studies; Introduction – Jenessa Mae Spears and Christine Z Miller; 9. From Silent Enablers to Powerful Practices: Reflections on Design Staples in the Ethnographic Field - Manisha Dikshit, Antonella Fabri, Laurent Mertz, Letizia Nardi, and Patricia Sunderland; 10. Designing a Digital Archive for Bodo and Dimasa Indigenous Communities - Monali Longmailai, Bihung Brahma, Krithika Barman, and Christina Wasson; 11. From Design Research to Design Anthropology - Camille Mançon; 12. How to do Robotics with Words: Language and Prospective Ethics in Design Anthropological Approaches to Emergent Hardware - Lora Koycheva; 13.  Pain Points and Personality: Bringing Anthropology to Conversational UX Design - Elizabeth A. Rodwell; 14. Making Design with Anthropology, at the Confluence of Research and Life - Zoy Anastassakis; 15. A Design-inspired Approach Towards Innovative Ethics Education in STEM - Christine Z Miller, Elisabeth Hildt, Kelly Laas, and Eric Brey; 16. Ethnography in the Mode of Design Anthropology: A Field Report - Isabella Kölz; 17. The Capabilities Approach and the Blindspot in Commerce-Centered Design - Scott Boylston; 18. Confessions of an Organizational Change Agent - Helga Wild; 19. Participatory Design and Radical Games: Mapping the Future of Tech with Queer Youth - Kendall Roark and Ashlyn Sparrow; 20. Design Anthropology and Transformative Change: A Climate Action Case Study - Emma Jo Aiken-Klar and Ruth Silver; Section 3: Opportunities, Speculations, & Emerging Potentialities; Introduction - Christine Z Miller and Jenessa Mae Spears; 21. Neither an Axe nor A Tree: The Applied Ethnographer’s Role in Future Thinking Inside the Modern Corporation - Sam Ladner; 22. (Dis)embodied Rationality? Behavioral Design’s Mind-body Problem - Ruth Schmidt; 23. Embodying Change: Trauma-Informed Design, Human-Centered Design – Alissa Millenson; 24. Experiences Practicing Design and Anthropology in the Workplace: Applying Transformational Approaches to Traditional Business Models - Kay Zagrodny Barkley; 25. Future-Making: Strategy Design as Vital Design Evolution – Wendy Manning; 26. Transformative Innovation through Culture and Design – Bruce A. Claxton; 27. Design Anthropology by Co-Becoming: Reimagining Participation in the Pursuit of New Possibilities – Matt Artz; 28. Playing Strategist: Follow the Yellow Brick Road – Jason “TOGA” Trew; 4: Conclusion – Christine Z Miller and Jenessa Mae Spears.