Why is it that so many human systems feel “broken” and why now? And as these systems grow in scale and complexity, how are we to navigate a context where our individual actions seem to have unpredictable or even unknowable effects? Posing a thought experiment about systems and their unraveling, this talk will explore what it means to design within complex systems, how to use scale as a means to think the contemporary moment, and whether the explosion of design “futures” across many industries is an unwitting escape from the political entanglements of the present. Is it possible that the root of injustice is not only in human behaviors, but also in the ways that human-designed systems develop and evolve? And what does that mean, ultimately, to the project of design in challenging times?
This talk is part of our Humanistic Design Speaker Series.
About the speaker
Jamer Hunt’s work operates at the intersection of the unknowable and urgent. He is the author of Not to Scale: How the Small Becomes Large, the Large Becomes Unthinkable, and the Unthinkable Becomes Possible; the founding director of the Transdisciplinary Design graduate program at Parsons School of Design; and the co-creator (with Paola Antonelli) of Design and Violence at the MoMA. Fast Company has named him to their list of “Most Creative People.”
Who can attend?
Open to the public, the campus community, students, postdocs, research scholars, faculty, staff, and alumni.
Refreshments will be provided.
Registration is recommended.