We are thrilled to announce the talk and workshop by Dr. Katta Spiel on November 13-14, 2019, which will take place here in Kassel. Our group, together with Research Centre for Information Systems Design (ITeG), will be hosting Dr. Spiel, who is affiliated to the KU Leuven, Belgium and University of Vienna, Austria to share insights on their research approach: Critical Participatory Design.
Spiel’s research has predominantly been in the design of digital games with neurodivergent youth and understanding the experiences of autistic children in technological contexts. Spiel works also with Critical and Queer Theory in the analysis of Human Computer Interaction methods and design of Technologies. Their work is mostly centred on the notions of gender and disability.
Dr. Katta Spiel will give a talk on Critical Participatory Design — On Listening and Making Space and will conduct a hands-on exploration workshop titled Critical Design and Engineering Practices.
For the workshop, send a short confirmation email to Nana Kesewaa Dankwa at nkdankwa@uni-kassel.de to register until November 01, 2019.
Here are the details of both the talk and the workshop:
Talk: Critical Participatory Design — On Listening and Making Space
November 13, 2019, 5:00 – 6:30 pm, ITeG, Pfannkuchstraße 1, Kassel
Description: “Particularly in the Scandinavian tradition, Participatory Design has always had a critical component, emancipating stakeholders who are often marginalised and disenfranchised in dominant modes of technological development. My practice, however, centres explicitly on critical engagements. Doing so, I not only draw on Critical Theory to identify marginalised groups in Participatory Design, but I also create objects with them that further develop this theory and reflect on power dynamics in knowledge production within academia. In this talk, I present two case studies exemplifying the foundations of a Critical Participatory Design practice. One shows how autistic children as meaningfully involved as equally contributing designers. The second focuses on neighbourhood maps and demonstrates how, even in more constrained projects, the approach supports researchers to attune themselves to questions of power, ownership and epistemology. In their combination, they illustrate how active listening and a conscious attempt at deliberately making physical and metaphorical spaces. “
Workshop: Critical Design and Engineering Practices — A hands-on exploration
November 14, 2019, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, ITeG, Pfannkuchstraße 1, Kassel
Description: ” In this workshop, we will collaboratively as well as individually explore what critical design and engineering practices could look like. We invite participants of any disciplinary background to join us in this exploration. No particular design, engineering or theoretical knowledge is required. Only an open mind and an interest in thinking critically about technology and the world we live in. “
We look forward to seeing you on November 13-14, and please don’t forget to register!
Featured image by Katta Spiel.
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