Design History Beyond the Canon

Design History Beyond the Canon subverts hierarchies of taste which have dominated traditional narratives of design history. This book explores a diverse selection of objects, spaces and media, ranging from high design to mass-produced and mass-marketed objects, as well as counter-cultural and sub-cultural material. The authors' research highlights the often marginalized role of gender and racial identity in the production and consumption of design, the politics which underpins design practice and the role of designed objects as pathways of nostalgia and cultural memory. While focused primarily on North American examples from the early 20th century onwards, this collection also features essays examining European and Soviet design history, as well as the influence of Asia and Africa on Western design practice. This book is organised in three thematic sections: 'Consumers', 'Intermediaries' and 'Designers'. The first section analyses a range of designed objects and spaces through the experiences and perspectives of users. The second section considers intermediaries from both technology and cultural industries, as well as the hidden labour within the design process itself. The final section focuses on designers from multiple design disciplines including high fashion, industrial design, interior design, graphic design and design history pedagogy. The essays utilize different research methods and a wide range of theoretical approaches, including feminist theory, critical race theory, spatial theory, material culture studies, science and technology studies and art history. This book brings together the most recent research which stretches beyond the traditional canon and looks to interdisciplinary methodologies to better understand the practice and consumption of design.

Table of Contents:
Foreword: A Pre- and Post-History of “Teaching the History of Modern Design: The Canon and Beyond”, Carma Gorman (University of Texas at Austin, USA) and David Raizman (Drexel University, USA) Introduction, Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler (Purdue University, USA), Victoria Rose Pass (Maryland Institute College of Art, USA) and Christopher S. Wilson (Ringling College of Art and Design, USA) Section One: Users/Consumers 1. Kul’ttovary : Bringing Culture into the Soviet Home, Yelena McLane (Florida State University, USA) 2. Diversionary Tactics at Work: Making Meaning Through Misuse, Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler (Purdue University, USA) 3. Everything Old is New Again: Modernization, Historic Preservation, and the American Home, 1920-1966, Emily Wolf Hetzel (Boston Architectural College, USA) Section Two: Intermediaries 4. Representing Modern Architecture in The Rockford Files (1974-1980), Christopher S. Wilson (Ringling College of Art and Design, USA) 5. CLOTHES CLOTHES CLOTHES PUNK PUNK PUNK WOMEN WOMEN WOMEN, Maria Elena Buszek (University of Colorado Denver, USA) 6. Using Digital Tools to Work Around the Canon, Matthew Bird (RISD, USA) Section Three: Designers 7. Confronting Racial Stereotypes in Graphic Design History, Karen L. Carter (Ferris State University, USA) 8. The Mangbetu Coiffure: A Story of Cars, Hats, Branding, and Appropriation, Victoria Rose Pass (Maryland Institute College of Art, USA) 9. Adventure Play in Physical and Virtual Spaces, Gayle L. Goudy (College of Charleston, USA) 10. The Case of William Pahlmann: Challenging the Canon of Modern Design, Marianne Eggler (State University of New York, USA), Erica Morawski (Pratt Institute, USA) and Sara Desvernine Reed (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA) 11. “I Was Not a Woman Designer… I Was a Designer Who Happened to Be a Woman”, Russell Flinchum (NC State University, USA) Epilogue: Beyond the Canon: Building the Case for and Cases for Interdisciplinary Design History, Stephanie E. Vasko (Michigan State University, USA) Notes on the Contributors Index